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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bulb — for light
  7. march — the month
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — a container
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. track — a song
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — in football
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. stock — goods
  23. track — a path
  24. bulb — of a plant

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