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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: lean · pop · wax · hand · craft · capital · root · stock

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — to grow
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. craft — a skill
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stock — shares
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stock — goods
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. craft — boats
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — a city
  14. root — the cause
  15. lean — thin
  16. root — of a word
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. lean — to bend
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pop — to visit

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