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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a ring
  4. key — the most important part
  5. tear — from crying
  6. key — in music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. kid — to tease
  17. land — to come down
  18. key — for a lock
  19. land — ground
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. land — a country
  22. band — a music group
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. tear — to rip

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