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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fork — in a road
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stock — goods
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. track — a song
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. track — a path
  20. kid — child
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. track — to keep track
  24. scale — for weighing

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