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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: race · nail · game · pound · spell · wax

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. race — a contest
  9. spell — magic
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. race — humankind
  12. game — a match
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spell — letters
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wax — to grow
  18. nail — for a hammer

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