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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: snap · march · row · bear · race · pass · wax · wake

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. race — humankind
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pass — a permit
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. march — music
  9. race — a contest
  10. march — the month
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wax — to grow
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. snap — to click
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. race — the arms race
  24. march — the month

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