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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. current — electric
  9. march — the month
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. current — of water
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. drill — army training
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitch — completely
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. court — of a king
  21. current — happening now
  22. drill — a practice
  23. court — of law
  24. march — music

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