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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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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: content · race · fall · tear · last · object · wax · foot

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fall — the season
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. wax — to grow
  6. race — the arms race
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — to go on
  12. object — a thing
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. content — happy
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — the amount
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. last — finally
  21. object — to protest
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — final
  24. foot — a measure

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