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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — an injury
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. file — a tool
  13. last — to go on
  14. stand — to bear
  15. row — a line
  16. race — a contest
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — to grow
  19. row — to paddle
  20. last — final
  21. plane — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. wax — for sculpting

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