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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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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stock — shares
  7. cue — a hint
  8. season — of the year
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — goods
  11. cue — for pool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — to breed
  17. season — in sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fall — the season
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cue — a signal
  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