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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.

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: wax · field · chip · last · craft · wind · cold · stock

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. last — to go on
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. field — for sport
  6. last — final
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — goods
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. field — farmland
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. last — finally
  23. cold — an illness
  24. craft — boats

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