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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stock — shares
  6. wax — to grow
  7. row — a line
  8. cell — a phone
  9. row — to paddle
  10. kid — child
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spell — a short time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. spell — magic
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. spell — letters
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. race — humankind
  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