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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — the arms race
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. race — humankind
  7. fall — the season
  8. race — a contest
  9. stock — goods
  10. pop — soda
  11. wax — to grow
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bore — to tire
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bore — to drill
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. fall — to drop
  21. capital — money
  22. stock — shares
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. pop — music

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