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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. club — for golf
  4. stock — goods
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mark — a trace
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — money
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stock — shares
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. club — a group
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wax — to grow
  24. capital — a city

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