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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. spell — magic
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — size or range
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stock — goods
  8. scale — in music
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — to tease
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wax — to grow
  19. kid — child
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. stock — shares
  23. spell — letters
  24. mark — a trace

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