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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: bank · stock · fan · can · straw · wax · march · content

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bank — for money
  12. can — a tin
  13. march — the month
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — music
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. content — happy
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — goods
  20. can — a tin
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. content — the amount

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