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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 · charge · wax · present · bass · lean · field

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. club — for golf
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. bass — low music
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — a price
  9. lean — to bend
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. field — for sport
  12. club — a group
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. present — a gift
  16. charge — electricity
  17. wax — to grow
  18. lean — thin
  19. field — farmland
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. field — a subject
  24. club — for dancing

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