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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. bulb — for light
  2. race — humankind
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. staff — employees
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wake — a trail
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. staff — a stick
  12. row — a line
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rash — hasty
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. race — a contest
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. rash — a series
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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