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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: mine · game · wound · stock · charge · bark · net · wax

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. charge — a price
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. game — a match
  12. stock — shares
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — for catching
  17. bark — to shout
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. charge — in control
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. charge — electricity
  22. stock — goods
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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