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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: bore · cap · bark · stock · land · ground · wax · last

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. ground — a position
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wax — to grow
  6. last — final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stock — goods
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. land — to come down
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. land — a country
  17. stock — shares
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. last — to go on
  23. land — ground
  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