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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stock — goods
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. stock — shares
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wake — a trail
  12. track — a song
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mate — a friend
  15. track — a path
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. mate — to breed

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