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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rest — a break
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. key — the most important part
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. row — a line
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wax — to grow
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. fall — the season
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. date — the fruit
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stock — goods
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stock — shares
  23. key — for a lock
  24. row — to paddle

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