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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: stock · snap · ground · straw · wax · fan · scale · spell

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stock — goods
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ground — a position
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spell — magic
  17. ground — crushed
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. scale — in music
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. snap — to click
  23. stock — shares
  24. wax — to grow

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