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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: straw · cap · stock · foot · wax · degree · rock · tube

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cap — a hat
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cap — a lid
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cap — of ice
  11. tube — a container
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stock — shares
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. stock — goods
  24. foot — part of the body

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