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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: charge · game · wax · tube · firm · last · race · pitcher

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. charge — a price
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. firm — decided
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. charge — in control
  7. last — final
  8. race — a contest
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. charge — electricity
  12. firm — a company
  13. race — the arms race
  14. last — to go on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. race — humankind
  17. tube — a container
  18. firm — steady
  19. last — finally
  20. game — a match
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. game — wild animals
  24. tube — the underground

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