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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — in sport
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. race — a contest
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — for catching
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chair — a leader
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. net — after costs
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. deal — to handle
  22. race — humankind
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wax — to grow

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