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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: wax · racket · chair · deal · mine · race · land · cue

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. race — humankind
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. land — ground
  8. deal — to handle
  9. land — to come down
  10. cue — a hint
  11. race — a contest
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cue — a signal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. chair — a leader
  21. land — a country
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cue — for pool

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