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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a committee
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wax — to grow
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. pitch — completely
  13. last — finally
  14. race — a contest
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rock — a stone
  20. last — to go on
  21. rock — music
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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