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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: stock · mug · chip · chest · kid · season · root · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mug — a face
  4. season — of the year
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mug — a cup
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — a box
  12. root — the cause
  13. mug — to rob
  14. kid — child
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. root — of a word
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — to eat
  22. season — in sport
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wax — in the ear

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