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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: race · tear · wax · stock · drill · dip · bark · mark

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. race — humankind
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — to sink
  5. stock — goods
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — a contest
  9. drill — army training
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mark — a trace
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. mark — a grade
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. drill — a practice
  24. tear — to rip

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