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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mate — to breed
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — shares
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — to paddle
  15. capital — money
  16. row — a line
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stock — goods
  20. pound — a weight
  21. capital — a city
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. row — a quarrel

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