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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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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: cell · drill · kick · cold · race · wax

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. wax — to grow
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cell — in biology
  7. race — the arms race
  8. drill — army training
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cold — the Cold War

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