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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: wax · game · race · cold · rush · deal · present · wave

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wax — to grow
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. present — the time now
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. race — humankind
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — a contest
  14. game — a match
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. race — the arms race
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. game — a kind of play

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