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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chip — for betting
  9. stock — goods
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stock — shares
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. chip — to eat
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stock — a soup base

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