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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: fork · bat · stand · scale · press · wax · spring · stock

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stock — goods
  6. scale — in music
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stock — shares
  10. press — newspapers
  11. spring — the season
  12. press — to push
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wax — in the ear

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