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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: stem · stock · content · wax · saw · season · tube · cabinet

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wax — to grow
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. tube — a container
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stock — shares
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stock — goods
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stem — to come from
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. season — of the year

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