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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. shower — rain
  3. last — final
  4. roll — a cake
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. last — finally
  7. race — humankind
  8. scale — in music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wax — to grow
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — a contest
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — to go on
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. scale — size or range

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