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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · wax · cell · capital · hide · rush · season · rule

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wax — to grow
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rush — hurry
  10. capital — a city
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. game — a match
  13. rule — a law
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. season — of the year
  17. capital — money
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. season — in 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