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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bass — low music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. race — a contest
  6. content — the amount
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. current — electric
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. content — happy

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