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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. bound — certain
  3. pound — a weight
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — goods
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tear — to rip
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wax — to grow
  16. scale — in music
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. stock — shares
  19. bound — obliged
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bound — tied together
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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