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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: bear · wax · stock · content · bat · spell · saw · pitcher

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stock — goods
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. content — happy
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stock — shares
  24. spell — letters

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