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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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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: pop · row · wax · race · snap · plane · mine · capital

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. row — to paddle
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. capital — a city
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. snap — to click
  13. row — a line
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. race — a contest
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pop — soda

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