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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: club · stock · tube · bass · cap · mine · wax · court

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. tube — the underground
  5. court — for sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. bass — low music
  9. club — for golf
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stock — goods
  12. cap — of ice
  13. court — of a king
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cap — a lid
  16. court — of law
  17. tube — a container
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. club — a group
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cap — a hat

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