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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pound · wax · ruler · rock · cold · race

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. pound — a weight
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. race — humankind
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music

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