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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. ground — the earth
  6. file — a document
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stock — goods
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — crushed
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. race — a contest
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. race — the arms race
  18. file — a tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ground — a position
  21. stock — shares
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. file — a line of people

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