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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. object — to protest
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mark — a trace
  7. present — a gift
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. object — an aim
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. object — a thing
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. race — the arms race
  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