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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stock — goods
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wind — moving air
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. branch — a division
  24. bay — a horse colour

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