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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stock — goods
  4. net — in sport
  5. stem — to come from
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. shower — rain
  11. stock — shares
  12. net — after costs
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. ball — a great time
  17. net — for catching
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bank — of a river

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