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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: hand · board · stock · dip · race · wax · straw · sharp

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. dip — to sink
  4. stock — shares
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stock — goods
  12. wax — to grow
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. board — a committee
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hand — help
  20. sharp — clever
  21. board — to get on
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. straw — dry grass

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