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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wax — to grow
  3. lie — to recline
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mate — a friend
  7. race — humankind
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mate — to breed
  11. race — a contest
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. race — the arms race
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. drill — army training
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. scale — in music
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rash — a series
  22. drill — the tool
  23. scale — size or range
  24. trunk — of a tree

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