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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. content — the amount
  11. stock — goods
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stock — shares
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. content — happy
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. vault — a safe
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stock — a soup base

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