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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ground — crushed
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cue — a hint
  5. race — a contest
  6. cue — for pool
  7. tube — the underground
  8. ground — a position
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. capital — money
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. race — humankind
  18. cue — a signal
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. capital — a city
  22. tube — a container
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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