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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: craft · race · tube · wax · wave · mug · toast · cold

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. race — humankind
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. toast — bread
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. mug — to rob
  13. race — a contest
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. mug — a cup
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. mug — a face

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