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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 120 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: rule · wax · ball · rush · rash · rest · drill · clip

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rule — government
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. drill — army training
  23. clip — for paper
  24. drill — the tool

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