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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. date — the fruit
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. court — for sport
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. race — humankind
  9. chip — to eat
  10. court — of law
  11. present — the time now
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. race — a contest
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. hand — in cards
  16. court — of a king
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. race — the arms race
  20. present — a gift
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. present — there
  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