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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. wake — a trail
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. fine — all right
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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