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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: wax · race · stock · fan · cell · field · coach · tear

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. field — farmland
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cell — in biology
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. stock — shares
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stock — goods
  20. field — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cell — a phone
  24. field — a subject

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