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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. roll — a list
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wax — to grow
  7. hand — in cards
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stock — goods
  10. object — an aim
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — help
  13. roll — a cake
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. object — a thing
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. object — to protest
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wind — moving air

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