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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 116 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 · plane · mine · wax · spell · stock · lie · spring

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. plane — a tool
  7. stock — shares
  8. spell — magic
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. spring — the season
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spring — of water
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stock — goods
  24. wake — a trail

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