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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: stock · rest · snap · race · wax · ball · cold · pop

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. ball — a great time
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. stock — goods
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — a contest
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stock — shares
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. race — humankind
  17. pop — soda
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wax — to grow
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ball — a dance
  24. wax — in the ear

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