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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — to handle
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wax — to grow
  5. shower — to wash
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. wind — moving air
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. shower — rain
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. spring — the season
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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