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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wax — to grow
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rest — a break
  5. land — ground
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. land — to come down
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. land — a country

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