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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. race — humankind
  3. net — after costs
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — to point toward
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. face — to confront
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. band — a music group
  19. race — a contest
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. rush — hurry
  24. band — a rubber band

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