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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stock — shares
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. charge — electricity
  10. stock — goods
  11. season — in sport
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — a video
  19. kid — to tease
  20. charge — in control
  21. kid — child
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. charge — a price
  24. wax — to grow

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