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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 116 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: wax · ball · stock · degree · club · trunk

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ball — a great time
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wax — to grow
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stock — shares
  18. degree — temperature

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