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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. march — the month
  3. race — the arms race
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mine — for digging
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. race — humankind
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. race — a contest
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. fine — all right

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