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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — humankind
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — a box
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — the arms race
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. race — a contest

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