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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: rule · wind · wax · rush · stock · bat · land · club

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. land — a country
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. club — for golf
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. club — a group
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stock — goods
  19. wind — moving air
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rush — hurry
  24. land — ground

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