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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. current — electric
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — to grow
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cold — an illness
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. current — happening now
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. current — of water
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. race — a contest
  23. dip — to sink
  24. race — humankind

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