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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. race — a contest
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fork — in a road
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — of water
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — to grow
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. spring — the season
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. last — to go on

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