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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: season · lie · wax · scale · stock · fine · cold · straw

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. stock — shares
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. lie — to recline
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. cold — not warm
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fine — all right
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — high quality
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. scale — for weighing

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