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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mug — to rob
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wound — an injury
  11. present — there
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. mug — a face
  15. race — a contest
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. present — a gift
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mug — a cup
  21. present — the time now
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wound — an injury

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