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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.

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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: wave · ball · scale · season · row · hand · wax · stock

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wax — to grow
  3. scale — size or range
  4. stock — goods
  5. ball — a great time
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. row — a line
  20. ball — a dance
  21. scale — in music
  22. season — of the year
  23. hand — help
  24. scale — for weighing

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