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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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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: wave · current · race · kid · wax · row · racket · degree

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. race — humankind
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. degree — an amount
  8. row — a line
  9. kid — child
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. row — to paddle
  14. current — happening now
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. kid — to tease
  17. current — of water
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — from a university
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. race — a contest
  23. current — electric
  24. racket — for tennis

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