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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: cap · club · content · game · trunk · rule · squash · wax

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — a match
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cap — of ice
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. club — a group
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. club — for dancing
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wax — to grow
  12. content — happy
  13. game — wild animals
  14. squash — to crush
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. club — for golf
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. squash — the vegetable

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