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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: stand · fan · wax · nail · chest · cue · squash · race

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stand — to bear
  6. chest — a box
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — a contest
  9. cue — a hint
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. chest — of your body
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cue — a signal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. race — humankind
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cue — for pool
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. stand — on your feet

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