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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — magic
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. sharp — clever
  8. spell — letters
  9. ball — a dance
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. capital — money
  17. spell — a short time
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stock — goods
  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