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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: pitcher · bark · foot · capital · date · wax · ball · stock

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bark — to shout
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. foot — a measure
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — goods
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. capital — money
  21. date — the fruit
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. capital — a city
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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