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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stock — goods
  4. race — humankind
  5. stock — shares
  6. tube — a container
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pass — a permit
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. race — a contest
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mine — for digging
  24. deal — a big deal

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