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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: pop · shower · spell · pitcher · wax · nail · row · stock

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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. row — a line
  2. spell — magic
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pop — to visit
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. spell — letters
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spell — a short time
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — rain
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stock — goods
  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