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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. ground — crushed
  3. race — humankind
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mine — for digging
  9. race — a contest
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. lean — thin
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. bound — certain
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bass — low music
  24. bound — obliged

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