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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chest — of your body
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. land — ground
  9. drill — a practice
  10. degree — an amount
  11. land — to come down
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — army training
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fall — to drop
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. fall — the season
  22. chest — a box
  23. land — a country
  24. temple — a place of worship

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