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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rule — a law
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. spring — the season
  6. spell — magic
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rush — hurry
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. squash — the sport
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. spring — of water
  22. tube — a container
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com