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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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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. spring — the season
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. race — the arms race
  7. land — a country
  8. race — a contest
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — from a university
  11. land — ground
  12. spring — of water
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. race — humankind
  15. land — to come down
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wax — to grow
  18. degree — an amount

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