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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 116 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stock — shares
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. degree — an amount
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. bass — low music
  12. spring — the season
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. degree — temperature
  17. land — ground
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. land — a country
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wax — in the ear

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