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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: wax · date · pitcher · kick · race · cell · march · wound

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — the month
  6. race — a contest
  7. date — the fruit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. march — music
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kick — in football
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — humankind

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