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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fall — to drop
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. roll — a cake
  5. branch — a division
  6. stock — goods
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spell — letters
  9. stock — shares
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a list
  12. wax — to grow
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. spell — magic
  19. fall — the season
  20. spell — a short time
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wax — for sculpting

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