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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. stem — to come from
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. band — a music group
  11. stock — shares
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pit — in a race
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. band — a ring
  21. pit — a hole
  22. stock — goods
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wind — to turn a key

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