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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wax — to grow
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. current — of water
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — to come down
  7. current — happening now
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. snap — to click
  17. land — ground
  18. fall — the season
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. current — electric
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. stock — goods
  24. land — a country

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