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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — finally
  4. race — a contest
  5. pop — music
  6. season — of the year
  7. wax — to grow
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. race — the arms race
  11. pop — soda
  12. rash — a series
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. last — final
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. last — to go on
  20. season — in sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. race — humankind
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pop — to visit

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