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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wax — to grow
  3. stock — shares
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. club — a group
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. spell — a short time
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kid — child
  13. deal — to handle
  14. kid — to tease
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stock — goods
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spell — magic
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spell — letters
  23. press — newspapers
  24. club — for golf

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