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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: mine · race · pop · tear · wax · vault

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pop — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wax — to grow
  7. vault — a safe
  8. pop — to visit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. race — humankind
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pop — soda
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive

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