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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rash — a series
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. rash — hasty
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. race — humankind
  15. tear — to rip
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chip — for betting
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wax — to grow
  24. spring — of water

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