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

Word bank: wind · pound · wax · stick · press · stock

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. press — a publisher
  9. stock — shares
  10. pound — a weight
  11. press — to push
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wind — moving air

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