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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — to cut
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. band — a music group
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. craft — boats
  11. stock — goods
  12. craft — a skill
  13. clip — a video
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — decided
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stock — shares
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. clip — for paper
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. firm — a company

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