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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. last — final
  6. race — a contest
  7. content — the amount
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. last — finally
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. row — a line
  14. wax — to grow
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. row — to paddle
  19. dip — to sink
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. content — happy
  24. last — to go on

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