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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 · fan · spell · stock · wax · rule · field · shower

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — goods
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — for sport
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. shower — to wash
  11. field — a subject
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. shower — rain
  17. spell — magic
  18. stock — shares
  19. spell — letters
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. field — farmland
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rule — a law

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