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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. prune — to trim
  3. row — to paddle
  4. race — humankind
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. charge — electricity
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. charge — a price
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bore — to drill
  19. charge — in control
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. game — a match
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bore — to tire
  24. wind — moving air

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