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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 · trunk · patient · wind · wax · tear · temple · saw

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. stock — shares
  2. wax — to grow
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. tear — to rip
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — goods
  19. wind — moving air
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wax — for sculpting

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