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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 · stock · saw · stick · cold · rule · lean · wax

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rule — a law
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. rule — government
  10. stock — shares
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cold — an illness
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stock — goods

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