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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rash — a series
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fall — the season
  7. mine — for digging
  8. present — there
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rash — hasty
  11. row — a line
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. race — humankind
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wax — for sculpting

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