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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. stock — goods
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wax — to grow
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters

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