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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. current — happening now
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. scale — in music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. saw — the tool
  15. race — humankind
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cold — an illness
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. cold — the Cold War

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