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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. stock — goods
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — the arms race
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. shower — to wash
  13. board — a committee
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. last — finally
  16. wax — to grow
  17. shower — rain
  18. board — to get on
  19. race — a contest
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. last — final
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. race — humankind

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