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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. stock — shares
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bear — the animal
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stock — goods
  10. branch — a division
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bear — the animal
  17. kid — child
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bat — the animal
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wound — an injury

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