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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: hand · stock · tear · wax · arm · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stock — shares
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — goods
  6. board — a committee
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. board — to get on
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wax — to grow
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. hand — in cards
  17. tear — from crying
  18. arm — part of the body

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