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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. spell — magic
  5. court — for sport
  6. stock — shares
  7. spell — letters
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pound — a weight
  13. court — of law
  14. spell — a short time
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of a king
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. plane — a tool
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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