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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stock — shares
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spell — magic
  11. bore — to drill
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. spell — letters
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bore — to tire
  17. shower — rain
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. spell — a short time
  21. snap — to click
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cell — in biology

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