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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bound — tied together
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. race — a contest
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. net — after costs
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bound — certain
  10. ground — a position
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bound — obliged
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — to grow
  16. race — the arms race
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. ground — crushed
  19. net — in sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. race — humankind
  24. coach — a trainer

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