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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: wax · ground · coach · stock · last · root · spring · leaves

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. root — of a plant
  5. stock — goods
  6. ground — crushed
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. last — final
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ground — a position
  12. wax — to grow
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. ground — the earth
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — finally
  18. spring — of water
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. root — the cause
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. last — to go on
  23. stock — shares
  24. root — of a word

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