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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. firm — decided
  5. spell — letters
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. spell — a short time
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wax — to grow
  15. track — to keep track
  16. swing — music
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cell — a phone
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — a company
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — magic

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