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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · bass · land · mouse · wax · capital · cell · ruler

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. land — a country
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. land — to come down
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bass — the fish
  9. land — ground
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stock — shares
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stock — goods
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bass — low music
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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