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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rash — hasty
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. race — humankind
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. hand — help
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. file — a document
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. hand — in cards
  24. race — the arms race

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