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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. rash — a series
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ball — a great time
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rash — hasty
  14. season — in sport
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. race — humankind
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — in biology
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. season — of the year
  23. fork — in a road
  24. race — a contest

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