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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. game — a match
  3. row — a line
  4. race — the arms race
  5. land — ground
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. race — a contest
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ball — a dance
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. ball — a great time

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