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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stock — goods
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stock — shares
  22. fall — the season
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pitcher — a jug

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