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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. race — the arms race
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mug — to rob
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chest — a box
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — a face
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ball — a dance
  16. row — to paddle
  17. race — humankind
  18. row — a line
  19. lean — thin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. race — a contest
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lean — to rest against

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