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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — a thing
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. saw — the tool
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. object — to protest
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bank — for money
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a ring
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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