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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. race — the arms race
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. race — a contest
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spell — magic
  10. fall — the season
  11. rock — music
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chair — a leader
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — to grow

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