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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mark — a trace
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mark — a grade
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. face — to confront
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chip — to eat
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stock — a soup base

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