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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. ground — a position
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. root — of a plant
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stock — shares
  14. root — of a word
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. ground — the earth
  19. stock — goods
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. root — the cause
  22. stand — to bear
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stand — for spectators

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