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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stock — goods
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rash — a series
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stock — shares
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rule — a law
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rule — government
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cold — not warm

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