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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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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: stand · mate · wax · racket · race · last · tear · cell

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. last — finally
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wax — to grow
  12. tear — to rip
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stand — to bear
  15. last — final
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. race — the arms race
  19. last — to go on
  20. cell — in biology
  21. race — a contest
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. race — humankind
  24. mate — to breed

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