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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stock — goods
  11. field — for sport
  12. stock — shares
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. press — to push
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stock — a soup base

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