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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: ground · tube · present · stock · cell · cap · wax · fan

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cap — of ice
  3. ground — crushed
  4. present — there
  5. stock — shares
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stock — goods
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wax — to grow
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — a lid
  23. ground — a position
  24. cap — a hat

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