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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: tear · net · root · rule · mug · file · wax · cold

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wax — to grow
  7. net — in sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. mug — a face
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — the cause
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a line of people
  14. root — of a word
  15. mug — to rob
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rule — government
  18. root — of a plant
  19. net — for catching
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. file — a document
  24. wax — in the ear

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