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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. band — a music group
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. firm — steady
  6. wax — to grow
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — money
  12. firm — decided
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. race — humankind
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — a contest
  18. pound — a weight
  19. perch — the fish
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. capital — a city
  22. band — a ring
  23. firm — a company
  24. prune — to trim

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