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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. snap — to click
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. last — final
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. last — to go on
  10. race — humankind
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. capital — a city
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. capital — money
  17. race — the arms race
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. race — a contest
  20. date — the fruit
  21. rest — what's left
  22. last — finally
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wound — an injury

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