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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. race — a contest
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. shower — to wash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — rain
  16. can — a tin
  17. kick — in football
  18. can — to be able to
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. snap — to click
  22. can — a tin
  23. degree — an amount
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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