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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: fork · land · ground · calf · wax · row · race · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. race — a contest
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rest — a break
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ground — the earth
  15. row — a line
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ground — a position
  23. race — humankind
  24. rest — what's left

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