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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pitch — completely
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. season — of the year
  7. land — ground
  8. race — humankind
  9. last — final
  10. wax — to grow
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. season — in sport
  14. last — to go on
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. pass — a permit
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. last — finally
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pass — to succeed

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