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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. race — a contest
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. march — music
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wax — to grow
  11. march — the month
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. race — humankind
  16. root — of a word
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. root — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. root — the cause

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