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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. band — a ring
  3. kid — child
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wax — to grow
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — goods
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a music group
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. prune — to trim
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fan — to cool the air

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