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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. drill — army training
  4. race — the arms race
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — the season
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spring — of water
  10. race — a contest
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. scale — in music
  15. wax — to grow
  16. race — humankind
  17. plane — a tool
  18. spring — a coil

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