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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: pop · land · bay · capital · wax · stock · cue · tear

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. stock — goods
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cue — a hint
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pop — music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pop — soda
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — money
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cue — for pool
  20. stock — shares
  21. capital — a city
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. land — a country
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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