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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 124 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. key — in music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wax — to grow
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — to tease
  9. race — the arms race
  10. key — for a lock
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rush — hurry
  17. snap — to click
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stock — shares
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. race — humankind
  23. stock — goods
  24. rest — a break

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