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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — the arms race
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spring — of water
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. court — of a king
  16. march — the month
  17. land — a country
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — to come down
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. court — of law
  23. race — a contest
  24. land — ground

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