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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chest — a box
  6. net — in sport
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. net — for catching
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stock — shares
  18. row — a line
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. net — after costs
  22. stock — goods
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bore — to drill

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