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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: bear · hand · land · stand · stock · wax · bass · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. land — ground
  3. bass — low music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. land — to come down
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. hand — help
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stand — to bear
  13. land — a country
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stock — goods
  20. face — to confront
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stock — shares
  24. wax — in the ear

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