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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 116 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. sharp — clever
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stock — shares
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tear — to rip
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ball — a great time
  15. chair — a leader
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. drill — army training
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stock — goods
  21. drill — the tool
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. tear — from crying

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