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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: wound · race · staff · wax · spring · club · fall · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. race — a contest
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spring — the season
  7. race — humankind
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. staff — a stick
  10. race — the arms race
  11. sharp — clever
  12. staff — employees
  13. club — a group
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. club — for golf
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — the season
  21. club — for dancing
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fall — to drop
  24. staff — employees

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