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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. race — a contest
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. capital — a city
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. firm — steady
  11. wax — to grow
  12. firm — decided
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. capital — money
  15. cold — not warm
  16. march — the month
  17. firm — a company
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. march — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cold — the Cold War

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