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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 120 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: last · fork · stock · nail · chest · root · wax · cold

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — finally
  5. root — the cause
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. root — of a word
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — to go on
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. stock — shares
  16. chest — of your body
  17. last — final
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fork — in a road
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. root — of a plant

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