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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stock — shares
  11. object — a thing
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. dip — to sink
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wax — to grow
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. dip — to dunk

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