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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. current — of water
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wax — to grow
  7. current — electric
  8. file — a tool
  9. stock — shares
  10. file — a document
  11. key — the most important part
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pop — music
  14. current — happening now
  15. game — a match
  16. key — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pop — soda
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. plane — a tool
  23. game — wild animals
  24. plane — in geometry

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