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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. stock — goods
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. stock — shares
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rush — hurry
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bat — the animal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bass — low music
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bass — the fish
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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