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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — bread
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stock — goods
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. branch — a division
  20. present — the time now
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. band — a music group
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wax — to grow

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