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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wax — to grow
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — the sport
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. race — humankind
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. race — a contest
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bank — for money
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bank — of a river
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mug — a face
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mug — a cup
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. nail — for a hammer

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