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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: firm · race · chest · wake · mine · wax · pit · snap

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chest — a box
  6. pit — in a race
  7. chest — of your body
  8. race — the arms race
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. firm — steady
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. firm — decided
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wax — to grow
  21. race — humankind
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. firm — a company

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