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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. race — humankind
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. date — the fruit
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wax — to grow
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. chest — a box
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. plane — a tool
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chest — of your body

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