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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: stock · bat · wake · branch · game · wax

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. game — a match
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. branch — a division
  15. stock — shares
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wax — to grow

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