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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: game · season · fall · jam · fine · wax · stock · wind

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. season — in sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. season — of the year
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. fall — the season
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fall — to drop
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fine — all right

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