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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — of law
  4. wax — to grow
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. spring — the season
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. sharp — clever
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — a coil
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. court — of a king
  21. craft — boats
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — of water
  24. court — for sport

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