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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. can — a tin
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stock — shares
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. dip — to sink
  8. stock — goods
  9. can — to be able to
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. hand — in cards
  12. shower — rain
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. hand — help
  17. wake — a trail
  18. shower — to wash
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. wax — to grow
  21. scale — in music
  22. can — a tin
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. scale — size or range

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