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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 120 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: racket · shower · tear · track · wax · stock · race · vault

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. track — a song
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. tear — from crying
  6. shower — rain
  7. stock — goods
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. race — humankind
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. shower — to wash
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. tear — from crying
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. vault — a safe
  21. tear — to rip
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. track — a path
  24. track — to keep track

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