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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. race — the arms race
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. fine — all right
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — high quality
  12. tear — to rip
  13. race — humankind
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wax — to grow
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. club — for dancing
  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