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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. wax — to grow
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rash — a series
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. row — a line
  8. land — ground
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pit — a hole
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. land — to come down
  17. row — to paddle
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rash — hasty
  20. stock — shares
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — goods
  24. rash — on the skin

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