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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 116 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: bank · stock · plane · bowl · wax · file · rest · capital

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. file — a tool
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. wax — to grow
  7. stock — goods
  8. bank — of a river
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. capital — a city
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. capital — money
  14. file — a document
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bank — for money
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bank — for money
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stock — shares

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