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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. race — humankind
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — a phone
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. content — the amount
  13. rock — a stone
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rock — music
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chest — of your body
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. kick — in football
  23. chest — a box
  24. race — a contest

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