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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. cold — not warm
  3. race — a contest
  4. rash — a series
  5. bank — for money
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — the arms race
  10. roll — a cake
  11. rash — hasty
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bank — of a river
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wax — to grow
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — an illness
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. race — humankind
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wax — in the ear

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