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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pop — soda
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. march — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. race — humankind
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stand — to bear
  19. march — the month
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pop — music
  23. march — the month
  24. race — a contest

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