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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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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mug — a face
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. race — a contest
  11. mug — a cup
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. race — humankind
  17. mug — to rob
  18. race — the arms race

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