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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. rush — hurry
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bass — the fish
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wax — to grow
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wake — a trail
  22. court — of a king
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bass — low music

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