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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cold — an illness
  4. march — the month
  5. race — humankind
  6. land — a country
  7. club — a group
  8. march — the month
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cold — not warm
  11. land — ground
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pit — in a race
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. land — to come down
  18. march — music
  19. wax — to grow
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. club — for golf
  23. race — a contest
  24. stem — to come from

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