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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. tear — to rip
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. race — a contest
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. band — a music group
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. race — the arms race
  19. tear — from crying
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. race — humankind
  24. game — a match

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