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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: row · mine · stock · wax · leaves · bat · face · wake

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. face — part of the head
  10. row — a line
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stock — shares
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — goods
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — to paddle

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