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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. file — a line of people
  3. clip — for paper
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. race — a contest
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mark — a trace
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — a country
  14. file — a tool
  15. wax — to grow
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a document
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mark — a grade
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. clip — to cut

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