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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. race — humankind
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. race — a contest
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. current — electric
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. degree — from a university
  17. race — the arms race
  18. current — of water
  19. pass — a permit
  20. chip — for betting
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tube — a container
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. current — happening now

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