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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stock — shares
  3. capital — a city
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. craft — boats
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a line
  14. capital — money
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. row — to paddle
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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