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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. game — a match
  3. mate — to breed
  4. object — to protest
  5. stock — shares
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mate — a partner
  9. drill — a practice
  10. object — an aim
  11. game — wild animals
  12. race — humankind
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stock — goods
  16. race — a contest
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. deal — to handle
  19. object — a thing
  20. drill — army training
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. race — the arms race
  24. drill — 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