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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: chest · band · wax · last · rule · ruler

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rule — a law
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — final
  7. wax — to grow
  8. band — a ring
  9. last — finally
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — to go on
  12. chest — a box
  13. rule — government
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a music group
  18. ruler — for measuring

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