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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: bank · wax · cap · shower · chip · stock · clip · race

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bank — of a river
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cap — a lid
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cap — of ice
  21. shower — rain
  22. race — a contest
  23. chip — to eat
  24. race — humankind

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