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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a ring
  7. stock — shares
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. band — a music group
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wax — to grow
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pass — a permit
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stem — to come from
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stem — a stem cell

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