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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rest — a break
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — a contest
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. present — a gift
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. race — humankind
  20. wax — to grow
  21. present — the time now
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. present — there
  24. ruler — for measuring

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