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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wax — to grow
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — of a king
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mark — a trace
  9. row — a line
  10. suit — clothes
  11. court — of law
  12. suit — to fit
  13. sharp — clever
  14. suit — in cards
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. stock — shares
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. stock — goods
  23. court — for sport
  24. row — to paddle

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