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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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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 · ruler · wind · temple · swing · cap · race · land

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wax — to grow
  3. race — a contest
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — music
  9. land — a country
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cap — of ice
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — to come down
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. land — ground
  24. race — humankind

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