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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. court — of law
  3. kid — child
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rest — what's left
  7. saw — the tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rule — a law
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chest — a box
  15. rule — government
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rest — a break
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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