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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 112 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wax · hand · ground · cell · saw · race

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cell — a phone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. hand — help
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. race — a contest
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — a position

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