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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 · tube · bat · fine · root · wax · rest · wind

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. root — the cause
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — a break
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. root — of a word
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rest — what's left

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