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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 116 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: pass · ball · kid · cell · track · pop · wax · stock

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stock — goods
  8. track — a song
  9. wax — to grow
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. track — a path
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stock — shares
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — child
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ball — a dance
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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