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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. race — a contest
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rash — a series
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wax — to grow
  10. track — a song
  11. rash — hasty
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — humankind
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. fall — the season
  16. rock — music
  17. track — a path
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. rock — a stone
  20. track — to keep track
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wax — for sculpting

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