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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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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 · wax · nail · dip · court · cold · lean · fork

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. court — of a king
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. court — of law
  11. lean — thin
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. dip — to sink
  17. race — humankind
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — an illness
  24. dip — a sauce

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