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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stock — shares
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chair — a leader
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. wax — to grow
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — a hole
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wound — an injury
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. pit — in a race

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