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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: ground · cap · perch · wax · ball · sharp · pop · race

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. race — humankind
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. perch — the fish
  5. sharp — clever
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ground — crushed
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pop — music
  13. ball — a great time
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pop — to visit
  17. ground — a position
  18. ball — a dance
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pop — soda
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — to grow
  23. race — a contest
  24. ball — a round shape

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