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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 120 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stock — shares
  4. press — to push
  5. chip — for betting
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kid — child
  8. court — of a king
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. rest — a break
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. chip — to eat
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stock — goods
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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