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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 difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. content — happy
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. tube — the underground
  8. lean — thin
  9. mine — for digging
  10. content — the amount
  11. tube — a container
  12. stock — shares
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. ball — a great time
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. lean — to bend
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stock — goods
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. ball — a dance

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