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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wax — to grow
  8. game — wild animals
  9. root — the cause
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. object — a thing
  16. root — of a plant
  17. race — a contest
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. object — an aim
  20. root — of a word
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. object — to protest

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