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

Word bank: bat · rule · fine · file · lie · tear · wax · chair

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. lie — to recline
  10. file — a document
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wax — to grow
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rule — government
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a tool
  24. rule — a law

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