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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: mark · bound · wax · pitch · deal · cold · last · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. mark — a trace
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mark — a grade
  6. last — final
  7. cold — not warm
  8. last — to go on
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — certain
  14. pitch — completely
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. deal — to handle
  17. race — a contest
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. bound — tied together
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — finally
  23. race — humankind
  24. pitch — a sports field

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