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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 120 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: wake · bat · mug · stock · wound · hand · ball · wax

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mug — to rob
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mug — a face
  14. stock — goods
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ball — a great time
  20. hand — help
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stock — shares
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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