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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. clip — to cut
  3. date — the fruit
  4. hand — help
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wound — an injury
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wax — to grow
  13. tube — a container
  14. clip — for paper
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stock — goods
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. clip — a video
  24. stock — shares

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