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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: wax · cap · race · clip · cold · wave · club · lie

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. race — humankind
  3. cold — not warm
  4. club — a group
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. clip — a video
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. race — a contest
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. club — for golf
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. lie — to recline
  24. clip — to cut

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