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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 124 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chest — a box
  3. stock — shares
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chest — of your body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chest — of your body
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. stock — goods
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fall — to drop
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cabinet — ministers

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