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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 120 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. race — the arms race
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fine — all right
  9. race — humankind
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. bark — to shout
  18. clip — a video
  19. tube — a container
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bark — of a tree

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