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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: chip · fall · wound · shower · wax · stock · track · chest

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stock — shares
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stock — goods
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — to keep track
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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