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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 water is too ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bound — obliged
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stock — shares
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — decided
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — low music
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. firm — steady

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