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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. last — to go on
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. tube — the underground
  6. squash — the sport
  7. file — a document
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. shower — to wash
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — final
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spell — magic
  14. shower — rain
  15. tube — a container
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wax — to grow
  18. last — finally
  19. spell — a short time
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spell — letters
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. file — a tool

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