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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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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 · race · kid · sharp · pit · rule · perch · track

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. track — to keep track
  3. kid — child
  4. track — a path
  5. race — the arms race
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. race — a contest
  8. wax — to grow
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rule — government
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pit — in a race
  16. kid — to tease
  17. race — humankind
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. track — a song
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pit — a hole
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — to rule out

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