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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: net · race · wake · rush · bark · bat · wax · rock

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. net — after costs
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. net — for catching
  18. wake — a trail
  19. race — humankind
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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