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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 · wax · rash · date · march · hand · fine · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rash — a series
  3. race — a contest
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. hand — in cards
  6. race — the arms race
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. march — music
  10. race — humankind
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bat — the animal
  13. hand — help
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. fine — all right
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wax — to grow
  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