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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 difference between broth and ________________?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. firm — decided
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. spell — magic
  10. press — to push
  11. chest — a box
  12. firm — steady
  13. stock — shares
  14. spell — a short time
  15. press — a publisher
  16. stock — goods
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. firm — a company
  23. wax — to grow
  24. spell — letters

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