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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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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: race · mouse · stem · tube · board · land · pitcher · wax

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. board — a committee
  5. race — humankind
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. race — a contest
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. race — the arms race
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wax — to grow
  13. land — ground
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. tube — a container
  21. board — to get on
  22. stem — to come from
  23. tube — the underground
  24. land — a country

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