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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — final
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stock — shares
  6. rash — hasty
  7. band — a ring
  8. last — to go on
  9. band — a music group
  10. cap — of ice
  11. last — finally
  12. stock — goods
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rash — a series
  24. chair — to sit on

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