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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 · last · staff · field · cap · scale · stock · rest

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cap — a lid
  5. field — a subject
  6. staff — employees
  7. rest — a break
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stock — goods
  12. rest — what's left
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stock — shares
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cap — of ice
  18. last — finally
  19. scale — in music
  20. staff — employees
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cap — a hat
  23. last — final
  24. stock — a soup base

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