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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: calf · race · wax · pass · clip · scale · vault · chair

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — a contest
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — for paper
  10. race — humankind
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wax — to grow
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. race — the arms race
  24. scale — for weighing

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