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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · race · wax · kid · date · track · land · wake

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wax — to grow
  4. land — to come down
  5. spring — the season
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. track — to keep track
  8. race — a contest
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. kid — child
  13. track — a song
  14. date — the fruit
  15. race — humankind
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. land — ground
  18. spring — of water
  19. land — a country
  20. track — a path
  21. wake — a trail
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. date — on the calendar

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