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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. mate — a partner
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. club — for dancing
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for golf
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chest — a box
  13. bore — to drill
  14. stock — goods
  15. clip — a video
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wake — a trail
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stock — shares
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bore — to tire
  24. chest — of your body

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