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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wax — to grow
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. field — for sport
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. season — of the year
  10. race — the arms race
  11. shower — rain
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stem — to come from
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. race — a contest
  17. season — in sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. mark — a grade
  20. field — farmland
  21. plane — a tool
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mark — a trace
  24. plane — an aircraft

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