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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. face — part of the head
  3. ground — crushed
  4. file — a document
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. ground — a position
  12. last — finally
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. last — final
  17. stock — shares
  18. face — to point toward
  19. file — a tool
  20. face — to confront
  21. wake — a trail
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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