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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. ground — crushed
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stock — shares
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. lean — thin
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wind — moving air
  20. season — in sport
  21. stock — goods
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. season — of the year

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