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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: spring · wax · bore · staff · spell · stock · club · cap

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. stock — shares
  8. staff — a stick
  9. club — a group
  10. cap — a lid
  11. club — for dancing
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stock — goods
  15. spring — of water
  16. staff — employees
  17. spell — magic
  18. spring — the season
  19. staff — employees
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. club — for golf
  24. spell — letters

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