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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: wax · bass · tear · spell · stock · hand · hide · game

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hand — in cards
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hand — help
  9. spell — a short time
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spell — magic
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wax — to grow
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — goods
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spell — letters
  19. bass — low music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — a kind of play

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