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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: drill · mine · race · cap · craft · wax · scale · temple

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. race — the arms race
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. race — humankind
  5. craft — boats
  6. mine — for digging
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cap — a hat
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. race — a contest
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cap — of ice
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cap — a lid
  19. scale — in music
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. scale — for weighing

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