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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: lean · wax · season · craft · fan · cold · calf · stock

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. craft — a skill
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. craft — boats
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. lean — to bend
  14. stock — shares
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. season — in sport
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cold — not warm

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