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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: stock · wound · bay · wax · racket · leaves · degree · march

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wax — to grow
  7. march — the month
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wound — an injury
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. degree — an amount
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. stock — a soup base

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