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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cap — a lid
  4. stock — shares
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stock — goods
  11. ball — a dance
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. present — there
  15. game — a match
  16. scale — in music
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cap — of ice
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. ball — a great time

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