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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mark — a trace
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. spell — letters
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spell — magic
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wax — in the ear

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