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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. plane — a tool
  3. race — a contest
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. spring — of water
  12. pitch — completely
  13. march — music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. wax — to grow
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. march — the month

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