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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stock — shares
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. drill — army training
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. stock — goods
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. drill — the tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. drill — a practice
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bound — certain
  24. wax — in the ear

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