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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: bass · snap · stock · bay · row · net · saw · wax

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. row — a line
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. net — in sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. row — to paddle
  17. net — after costs
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bass — the fish
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. net — for catching
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bass — low music

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