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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. ground — a position
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. mate — a friend
  8. land — to come down
  9. race — a contest
  10. ground — crushed
  11. race — humankind
  12. key — in music
  13. object — a thing
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ground — the earth
  16. land — ground
  17. object — an aim
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mate — a partner
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. land — a country
  24. object — to protest

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