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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. race — a contest
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — a video
  8. wake — a trail
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. race — the arms race
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. race — humankind
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. root — of a word
  24. drill — the tool

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