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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 120 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 met the new head ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stock — goods
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. spell — a short time
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wax — to grow
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. land — a country
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. spell — letters
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. clip — a video
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spell — magic
  17. land — to come down
  18. clip — to cut
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stock — shares
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — ground
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wax — in the ear

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