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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — to grow
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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