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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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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: roll · season · jam · wax · stock · march

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stock — goods
  5. season — of the year
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. march — the month
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. march — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. wax — to grow
  16. march — the month
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list

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