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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. court — for sport
  5. fall — the season
  6. court — of a king
  7. mug — to rob
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. court — of law
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rest — a break
  18. mug — a face
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stock — goods
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mug — a cup
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fall — to drop

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