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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: last · club · wax · lie · pound · race · capital · snap

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. capital — money
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. club — for golf
  7. capital — a city
  8. club — a group
  9. wax — to grow
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. race — the arms race
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pound — a weight
  19. lie — to recline
  20. snap — to click
  21. race — humankind
  22. last — to go on
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. lie — an untruth

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