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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · saw · club · wax · hide · stock · chest · fork

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stock — shares
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. last — finally
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chest — a box
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. last — final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. saw — the tool
  15. club — for golf
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — to go on
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. club — for dancing
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. club — a group
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wax — for sculpting

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