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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: row · straw · wax · land · plane · stock · club · shower

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. land — ground
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stock — shares
  6. shower — rain
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. land — a country
  9. stock — goods
  10. club — a group
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. club — for dancing
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. row — to paddle
  15. plane — a tool
  16. row — a line
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. club — for golf
  23. wax — to grow
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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