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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: stock · wind · leaves · cold · deal · wax · pass · mate

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. mate — a partner
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. deal — an agreement
  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