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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: squash · foot · wax · rule · sharp · row · cap · file

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. file — a line of people
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cap — a lid
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cap — a hat
  11. rule — a law
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. foot — a measure
  14. file — a document
  15. row — a line
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. file — a tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. sharp — with an edge

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