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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. scale — in music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. scale — size or range
  8. capital — a city
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bass — the fish
  12. file — a tool
  13. craft — boats
  14. file — a document
  15. capital — money
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. race — humankind
  18. bass — low music
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. file — a line of people
  24. craft — a skill

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