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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — to come down
  4. wax — to grow
  5. land — ground
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. tube — the underground
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wind — moving air
  11. root — of a word
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. stock — goods
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. root — of a plant
  19. branch — a division
  20. land — a country
  21. root — the cause
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. tube — a container

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