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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. race — humankind
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — a tin
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — to come down
  10. can — to be able to
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. scale — in music
  13. stem — to come from
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tube — a container
  18. land — a country
  19. race — a contest
  20. wound — an injury
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wax — to grow
  23. tube — the underground
  24. scale — for weighing

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