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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. perch — the fish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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