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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: fork · kid · lash · stock · spell · last · wax · march

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — a short time
  4. last — final
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. stock — shares
  16. last — finally
  17. stock — goods
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spell — letters
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. last — to go on
  23. fork — in a road
  24. march — the month

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