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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. file — a tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. rule — a law
  8. staff — a stick
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — goods
  11. can — a tin
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. file — a document
  14. rule — government
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. field — a subject
  17. can — a tin
  18. staff — employees
  19. stock — shares
  20. staff — employees
  21. spring — of water
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — in the ear

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