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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. club — for dancing
  3. stock — goods
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. club — for golf
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. staff — employees
  11. club — a group
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. staff — employees
  16. stock — shares
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. staff — a stick
  24. mouse — the animal

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