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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. race — humankind
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tear — from crying
  6. land — ground
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tear — to rip
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. land — a country
  20. chair — a leader
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — the season
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chair — a professorship

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