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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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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 · hand · bass · stock · wax · squash · mouse · row

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stock — goods
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — help
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bass — low music
  14. capital — a city
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bass — the fish
  24. capital — money

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