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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: drill · stock · lash · kick · arm · wax · shower · court

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. court — for sport
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. stock — shares
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. shower — to wash
  9. kick — in football
  10. shower — rain
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. court — of a king
  16. drill — the tool
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. court — of law
  24. arm — part of the body

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