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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — for catching
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. net — in sport
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — final
  13. rest — a break
  14. chest — a box
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — shares
  17. last — finally
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wax — to grow
  20. net — after costs
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stock — goods
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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