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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mate — to breed
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mate — a friend
  10. stock — shares
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. scale — in music
  14. wake — a trail
  15. stock — goods
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stock — a soup base

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