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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: season · stock · bore · track · spell · jam · wax · tear

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. track — a path
  3. season — in sport
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. bore — to tire
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. season — of the year
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — a short time
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. tear — from crying
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wax — to grow
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. track — a song
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wax — in the ear

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