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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: jam · stock · cap · season · march · wax · stem · club

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. season — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. stock — shares
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. season — of the year
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. club — for dancing
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. club — a group
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stock — goods
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wax — to grow
  24. jam — in traffic

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