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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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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: cell · fan · kick · wax · fine · race · date · pit

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kick — in football
  6. race — humankind
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. race — a contest
  12. fine — all right
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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