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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: wax · pop · land · vault · season · net · spring · stock

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — ground
  4. wax — to grow
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — a coil
  7. net — in sport
  8. spring — the season
  9. vault — a safe
  10. net — for catching
  11. stock — goods
  12. spring — of water
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. land — a country
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. pop — to visit
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. season — in sport
  21. pop — music
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. season — of the year

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