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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. stock — goods
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — temperature
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rash — hasty

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