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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: sharp · wax · hand · stock · arm · spell · craft · roll

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. roll — a cake
  4. stock — goods
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wax — to grow
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. craft — a skill
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. spell — magic
  19. roll — a list
  20. stock — shares
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. craft — boats
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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