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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 · key · racket · wind · rule · race · season · wax

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. season — in sport
  4. key — in music
  5. snap — to click
  6. race — the arms race
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rule — a law
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — government
  13. key — for a lock
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wind — moving air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. race — humankind
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. season — of the year
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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