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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. field — a subject
  7. snap — to click
  8. content — happy
  9. race — a contest
  10. bound — certain
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. content — the amount
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chest — a box
  16. field — farmland
  17. fall — to drop
  18. race — humankind
  19. bound — tied together
  20. chest — of your body
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bound — obliged
  23. field — for sport
  24. wax — in the ear

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