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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: charge · band · wax · bulb · race · clip · jam · last

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. race — humankind
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. charge — in control
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a ring
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. clip — for paper
  12. band — a music group
  13. race — a contest
  14. bulb — for light
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — a video
  17. wax — to grow
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. last — final
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. charge — electricity
  23. race — the arms race
  24. jam — a tight spot

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