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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. degree — an amount
  6. key — the most important part
  7. stock — goods
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. key — in music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stand — to bear
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stock — shares
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stem — to come from

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