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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. can — a tin
  3. stock — shares
  4. pit — a hole
  5. net — in sport
  6. can — a tin
  7. chair — a leader
  8. net — after costs
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. net — for catching
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pit — in a race
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wax — to grow
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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