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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. fine — all right
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. mark — a trace
  15. race — humankind
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. race — a contest
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chest — a box

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