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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 best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stock — shares
  5. tear — to rip
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rest — a break
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stock — goods
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  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