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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. race — a contest
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spell — letters
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mark — a grade
  15. stand — to bear
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spell — magic
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. race — humankind
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stand — on your feet

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