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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wax — to grow
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bore — to drill
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. stem — to come from
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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