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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 116 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stock — goods
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. court — of a king
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bore — to tire
  10. swing — to play on
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bore — to drill
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. last — final
  18. court — for sport
  19. wax — to grow
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. perch — the fish
  23. court — of law
  24. swing — music

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