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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. board — a committee
  7. stock — shares
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — goods
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wax — to grow
  14. spring — of water
  15. board — to get on
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. spring — the season
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wax — for sculpting

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