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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: shower · race · lean · wax · stick · tear · date · vault

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. race — humankind
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. date — the fruit
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. lean — thin
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. race — a contest
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. tear — to rip
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wax — to grow
  24. date — on the calendar

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