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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 116 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: cold · race · nail · rock · stock · current · wax · shower

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. race — a contest
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. race — the arms race
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. current — of water
  10. rock — music
  11. current — happening now
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wax — to grow
  14. current — electric
  15. race — humankind
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — not warm
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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