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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 116 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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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: content · band · wind · wax · stock · rule · bore · fork

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stock — goods
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rule — government
  7. stock — shares
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. content — happy
  12. band — a ring
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bore — to drill
  15. rule — a law
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. content — the amount
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bore — to tire
  24. band — a music group

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