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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. firm — steady
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. swing — music
  9. wax — to grow
  10. row — a line
  11. race — humankind
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. row — to paddle
  15. band — a ring
  16. spring — the season
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. race — a contest
  24. band — a music group

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