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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stock — shares
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — to grow
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — goods
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. net — after costs
  17. lie — to recline
  18. net — in sport
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. net — for catching
  24. chair — a leader

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