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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. file — a tool
  3. stock — shares
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. object — to protest
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. roll — a cake
  15. stock — goods
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wax — to grow
  20. swing — to play on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  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