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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 120 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: race · cold · wax · march · foot · straw · object · can

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. march — the month
  4. can — to be able to
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. can — a tin
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. foot — a measure
  14. object — to protest
  15. race — a contest
  16. wax — to grow
  17. object — a thing
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. race — the arms race
  21. object — an aim
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. can — a tin

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