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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wax — to grow
  8. root — of a word
  9. stock — goods
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. root — of a plant
  17. club — a group
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. club — for dancing
  20. root — the cause
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. club — for golf
  24. stock — shares

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