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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a face
  3. last — final
  4. stock — shares
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — to grow
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stock — goods
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. last — finally

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