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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. staff — a stick
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. mug — to rob
  10. season — of the year
  11. stock — goods
  12. wax — to grow
  13. last — final
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. mug — a cup
  17. staff — employees
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. last — to go on
  20. season — in sport
  21. stock — shares
  22. last — finally
  23. wake — a trail
  24. staff — employees

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