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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. scale — in music
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. craft — a skill
  9. rest — what's left
  10. content — the amount
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wax — to grow
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. race — a contest
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. squash — the sport

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