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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · fall · stock · race · wax · bear · scale · net

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. net — for catching
  3. fall — the season
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. scale — in music
  7. race — a contest
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — money
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bear — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. bear — the animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. net — after costs
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. race — humankind

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