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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wax — to grow
  4. race — the arms race
  5. scale — in music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. race — humankind
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stock — shares
  15. rest — a break
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stock — goods
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rest — what's left
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cap — a lid
  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