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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: stem · wax · race · roll · date · file · bark · last

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — to go on
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. date — the fruit
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. file — a line of people
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. stem — to come from
  12. roll — a list
  13. bark — to shout
  14. race — a contest
  15. file — a document
  16. roll — a cake
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a tool
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. race — humankind
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stem — a stem cell

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