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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: nail · squash · field · wax · pop · foot · stock · hand

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stock — goods
  3. wax — to grow
  4. stock — shares
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — the sport
  7. field — for sport
  8. foot — a measure
  9. hand — in cards
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. hand — help
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. squash — to crush
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pop — music
  17. field — a subject
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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