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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. tube — a container
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rest — a break
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. stock — goods
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — with your hand

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