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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. band — a ring
  3. game — wild animals
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cap — of ice
  9. race — the arms race
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cap — a hat
  15. prune — to trim
  16. race — a contest
  17. band — a music group
  18. race — humankind
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wax — to grow
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cap — a lid
  24. arm — part of the body

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