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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. rule — government
  3. race — a contest
  4. last — to go on
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. date — the fruit
  7. scale — size or range
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wax — to grow
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — finally
  12. stem — to come from
  13. race — humankind
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. scale — in music
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rule — a law
  21. perch — the fish
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. last — final
  24. perch — for a bird

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