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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 120 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: wax · wake · race · dip · club · chair

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wax — to grow
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. race — humankind
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. club — for dancing
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. race — the arms race

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