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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: stock · plane · craft · rash · mug · ground · wax · bat

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. craft — boats
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mug — a face
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mug — to rob
  11. rash — a series
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. plane — a tool
  16. craft — a skill
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wax — to grow
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rash — hasty
  24. mug — a cup

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