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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. saw — the tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bank — of a river
  5. stock — goods
  6. file — a document
  7. rash — hasty
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bank — for money
  10. file — a tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. stock — shares
  13. race — a contest
  14. rash — a series
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bank — for money
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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