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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: chest · race · spell · land · lie · trunk · wave · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. race — a contest
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. race — humankind
  7. spell — letters
  8. land — a country
  9. spell — magic
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chest — of your body
  13. race — the arms race
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chest — a box
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wave — with your hand

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