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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: cabinet · plane · stock · roll · kid · wax · row · tear

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — a cake
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wax — to grow
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — to tease
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — shares
  22. tear — from crying
  23. row — a line
  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