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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: hand · stick · last · wax · root · race · wind · staff

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — to go on
  5. race — the arms race
  6. root — the cause
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. race — a contest
  11. wind — moving air
  12. root — of a plant
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. root — of a word
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. hand — help
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. staff — employees
  21. race — humankind
  22. last — finally
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. last — final

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