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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. lean — thin
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. file — a tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a document
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pass — a permit
  15. roll — a list
  16. stock — goods
  17. file — a line of people
  18. lean — to bend
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. rock — a stone
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. rock — music

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