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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. net — in sport
  3. stock — goods
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. last — final
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. present — there
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stock — shares
  12. last — finally
  13. net — after costs
  14. present — the time now
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. row — a line
  19. net — for catching
  20. last — to go on
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bowl — a dish

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