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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. march — the month
  3. race — the arms race
  4. march — music
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — for sport
  10. chest — a box
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. march — the month
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. field — farmland
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — a subject
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. safe — out of danger

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