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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. last — finally
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. roll — a cake
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. plane — a tool
  13. race — the arms race
  14. drill — the tool
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. last — to go on
  17. wax — to grow
  18. last — final
  19. drill — army training
  20. race — humankind
  21. mate — a friend
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a list
  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