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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a tool
  3. wax — to grow
  4. race — the arms race
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. saw — the tool
  8. charge — electricity
  9. chair — a leader
  10. charge — a price
  11. saw — the tool
  12. race — humankind
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. race — a contest
  15. band — a ring
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. ball — a dance
  18. file — a document
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. charge — in control
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. file — a line of people

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