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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 · jam · race · net · cue · wax · rash · mine

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. rash — hasty
  4. race — humankind
  5. cue — a signal
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. race — a contest
  9. stock — shares
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. net — for catching
  13. stock — goods
  14. race — the arms race
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cue — for pool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wax — to grow
  20. rash — a series
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. net — after costs
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. net — in sport

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