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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: wind · tear · board · squash · date · stock · wax · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wax — to grow
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stock — goods
  7. date — the fruit
  8. tube — a container
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stock — shares
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tear — from crying
  15. board — to get on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a committee
  24. tear — to rip

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