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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 116 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: fork · wax · rule · bank · stand · game · last · net

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rule — government
  3. last — final
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stand — to bear
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. game — a match
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. last — finally
  13. game — wild animals
  14. net — after costs
  15. bank — of a river
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — a law
  18. net — in sport
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. net — for catching
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. stand — for spectators

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