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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. race — a contest
  6. stock — goods
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bear — the animal
  12. net — for catching
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. stock — shares

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