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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 116 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: kick · bank · wax · squash · nail · bat · stock · kid

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kid — to tease
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. kid — child
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bank — of a river
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bank — for money
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kick — in football
  11. stock — goods
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stock — shares
  16. bank — for money
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. squash — to crush
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wax — for sculpting

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