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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. land — to come down
  9. squash — to crush
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cell — a phone
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bound — tied together
  16. land — a country
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bound — certain
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. squash — the sport

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