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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — a country
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stock — shares
  6. land — to come down
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cap — of ice
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stock — goods
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. fall — the season
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. land — ground
  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