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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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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: race · file · wax · stock · march · wind · tear · present

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a document
  16. race — humankind
  17. present — the time now
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — shares
  20. tear — to rip
  21. march — music
  22. stock — goods
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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