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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 120 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 · plane · fan · hand · kid · wax · bore · stand

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bore — to drill
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. kid — to tease
  17. plane — a tool
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bore — to tire
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kid — child

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