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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: shower · wax · fine · stock · race · chest · ball · roll

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. chest — of your body
  12. roll — a list
  13. shower — rain
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. stock — goods
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. shower — to wash
  22. roll — a cake
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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