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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 116 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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. race — humankind
  7. pound — a weight
  8. file — a document
  9. last — finally
  10. club — a group
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. last — final
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. last — to go on
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. club — for golf
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — the arms race

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