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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
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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: object · stock · current · cold · club · march · wax · ground

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stock — shares
  3. object — an aim
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stock — goods
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. current — electric
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. march — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — a group
  15. ground — the earth
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — not warm
  18. current — of water
  19. ground — a position
  20. wax — to grow
  21. object — a thing
  22. march — the month
  23. object — to protest
  24. club — for golf

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