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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wax — to grow
  6. row — a line
  7. press — newspapers
  8. board — to get on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wound — an injury
  11. row — to paddle
  12. sharp — clever
  13. tear — to rip
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. press — to push
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tear — from crying

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