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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stock — shares
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. club — a group
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. drill — army training
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. drill — a practice
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. club — for dancing
  14. plane — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. stock — goods
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. club — for golf
  24. file — a tool

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