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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. last — to go on
  3. wax — to grow
  4. game — wild animals
  5. track — a song
  6. race — the arms race
  7. track — a path
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. last — final
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cap — a hat
  14. last — finally
  15. game — a match
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. cap — a lid

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