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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: wax · fine · ground · saw · swing · bat · content · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. ground — the earth
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. swing — music
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fine — high quality
  13. race — a contest
  14. ground — crushed
  15. swing — in golf
  16. race — the arms race
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. fine — all right
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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