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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — a video
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. net — for catching
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bass — low music
  14. net — after costs
  15. bass — the fish
  16. swing — music
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stock — shares
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. tube — a container
  24. content — videos and posts

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