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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: date · wax · bear · mate · bat · race · fan · straw

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bear — the animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. mate — a friend
  6. race — a contest
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. date — the fruit
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mate — a partner
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bear — the animal
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. race — humankind
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. straw — dry grass

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