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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: cold · wax · bound · present · mouse · root · firm · race

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. firm — steady
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. bound — certain
  8. firm — decided
  9. present — the time now
  10. root — the cause
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cold — not warm
  16. firm — a company
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — humankind
  19. bound — tied together
  20. root — of a word
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. root — of a plant

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