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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. lean — to bend
  4. march — the month
  5. stock — goods
  6. spring — the season
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. march — the month
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wax — to grow
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. bore — to drill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lean — thin
  20. stock — shares
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spring — of water
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. march — music

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