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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. race — the arms race
  3. file — a tool
  4. race — a contest
  5. shower — rain
  6. file — a document
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. band — a ring
  10. race — humankind
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wax — to grow
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. band — a music group
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. perch — the fish
  19. file — a line of people
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. scale — in music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. shower — to wash
  24. arm — part of the body

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