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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. race — humankind
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — the arms race
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cap — a lid
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cap — of ice
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. clip — a video
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. clip — to cut
  16. band — a ring
  17. race — a contest
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. date — the fruit
  23. wax — to grow
  24. band — a music group

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