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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 124 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. capital — money
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. band — a music group
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pop — to visit
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. mark — a grade
  24. wax — for sculpting

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