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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. scale — size or range
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. tube — a container
  9. ground — crushed
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ground — a position
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. stock — goods
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tube — the underground
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. saw — the 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