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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. shower — rain
  3. charge — a price
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lie — to recline
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — humankind
  8. band — a music group
  9. wax — to grow
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. race — the arms race
  16. charge — in control
  17. race — a contest
  18. band — a ring
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. charge — electricity

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