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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 120 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: game · race · kick · net · ground · staff · wax · march

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. race — a contest
  5. net — after costs
  6. staff — a stick
  7. kick — in football
  8. march — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. net — in sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — the month
  13. game — a match
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ground — crushed
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. net — for catching
  19. ground — a position
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. race — humankind
  24. ground — the earth

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