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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 116 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: race · spring · ground · lie · file · chair · present · wax

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wax — to grow
  3. file — a line of people
  4. race — a contest
  5. present — the time now
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. race — the arms race
  8. lie — to recline
  9. ground — the earth
  10. present — there
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — a position
  13. race — humankind
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. file — a tool
  16. spring — of water
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. ground — crushed
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. spring — the season
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. chair — a leader
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lie — an untruth

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