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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 116 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 best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — for digging
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. deal — to handle
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. march — music
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — goods
  24. ground — a position

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