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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. mark — a grade
  4. race — a contest
  5. squash — to crush
  6. mark — a trace
  7. rash — hasty
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wax — to grow
  10. snap — to click
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — a short time
  19. deal — to handle
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. race — humankind
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. spell — magic
  24. rash — a series

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