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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rule — government
  3. staff — employees
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. staff — employees
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — after costs
  10. date — the fruit
  11. net — for catching
  12. band — a music group
  13. wax — to grow
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rule — a law
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. staff — a stick
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. net — in sport
  24. rule — to rule out

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