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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: march · staff · suit · spring · cap · stock · wax · kid

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. wax — to grow
  4. suit — to fit
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. march — music
  8. cap — of ice
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cap — a lid
  12. spring — of water
  13. stock — goods
  14. march — the month
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. march — the month
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — the season
  20. suit — in cards
  21. stock — shares
  22. cap — a hat
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. suit — clothes

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