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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — humankind
  6. scale — in music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wax — to grow
  16. hand — help
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — a position
  24. racket — for tennis

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