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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — a contest
  7. dip — to sink
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — not warm
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. file — a tool
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. race — humankind
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. file — a document
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lie — to recline
  24. file — a line of people

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