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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: current · stock · arm · spring · wax · deal · last · scale

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — to handle
  3. last — final
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. current — electric
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wax — to grow
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. current — of water
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. scale — in music
  20. spring — the season
  21. last — finally
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. last — to go on
  24. current — happening now

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