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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · hand · wax · cue · cap · stock · cold · foot

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. file — a document
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — goods
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stock — shares
  7. cue — for pool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. hand — help
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. file — a tool
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. foot — a measure

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