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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: cell · net · wax · pop · trunk · stock · mate · roll

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mate — a friend
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wax — to grow
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — after costs
  11. stock — shares
  12. mate — a partner
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. roll — a list
  17. pop — music
  18. net — for catching
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. net — in sport
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mate — to breed

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