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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. game — a match
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. last — final
  6. rest — what's left
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — finally
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rest — a break
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bulb — for light
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. rest — what's left
  24. last — to go on

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