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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stock — shares
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. march — music
  6. ground — the earth
  7. face — to point toward
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. face — to confront
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. face — part of the head
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wax — to grow
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. ground — a position
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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