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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 116 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — to bear
  5. race — a contest
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. game — a match
  9. march — music
  10. shower — rain
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cap — a lid
  13. race — humankind
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. key — for a lock
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cap — of ice
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — in music
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. march — the month
  24. cap — a hat

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