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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kick — in football
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. land — a country
  7. date — the fruit
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. land — ground
  11. stock — goods
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stock — shares
  19. object — an aim
  20. swing — to play on
  21. object — a thing
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. swing — in golf
  24. object — to protest

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