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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spring — a coil
  4. race — a contest
  5. last — finally
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bore — to tire
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bore — to drill
  15. spring — of water
  16. race — humankind
  17. dip — to sink
  18. last — to go on
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. spring — the season
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. last — final
  24. race — the arms race

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