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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wound — an injury
  8. march — the month
  9. rule — a law
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — shares
  16. sharp — clever
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rule — government
  21. stock — goods
  22. march — music
  23. can — to be able to
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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