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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 120 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: stock · fork · wax · shower · chest · season · dip · lie

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — to sink
  5. stock — goods
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — rain
  11. stock — shares
  12. lie — to recline
  13. season — of the year
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fork — in a road
  20. season — in sport
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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