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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.

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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 · bay · content · straw · last · stock · wake · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wax — to grow
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. last — to go on
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. last — finally
  11. stock — goods
  12. land — to come down
  13. stock — shares
  14. last — final
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — a country
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. content — the amount
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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