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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. snap — to click
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stock — shares
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stock — goods
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — not warm
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. wax — for sculpting

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