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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.

Words on the sheet
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: game · arm · wax · shower · stock · perch · board · tear

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stock — shares
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. game — a match
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. shower — rain
  10. board — to get on
  11. stock — goods
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. board — a committee
  16. tear — from crying
  17. perch — the fish
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. shower — to wash
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tear — to rip

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