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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bound — certain
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. club — for dancing
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wax — to grow
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. scale — in music
  13. bound — tied together
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. dip — to sink
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. race — a contest
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. club — a group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bound — obliged
  22. race — humankind
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. scale — size or range

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