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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: cap · land · spell · tear · wax · stock · march · club

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — letters
  4. wax — to grow
  5. land — to come down
  6. spell — a short time
  7. march — the month
  8. land — a country
  9. spell — magic
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — of ice
  12. land — ground
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — to rip
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stock — shares
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — a lid
  23. club — for golf
  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