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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. roll — a cake
  6. wax — to grow
  7. roll — a list
  8. mug — a face
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. ground — crushed
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ground — the earth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. mug — a cup
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. clip — a video
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. ground — a position

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