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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pass — a permit
  3. current — electric
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — the arms race
  6. spring — of water
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wax — to grow
  12. race — a contest
  13. current — happening now
  14. wake — a trail
  15. current — of water
  16. chest — a box
  17. spring — the season
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. race — humankind
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pass — to succeed

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