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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — a line
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. spell — magic
  6. race — a contest
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. vault — a safe
  14. row — to paddle
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. kid — child
  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