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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — a law
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wax — to grow
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stock — shares
  10. roll — a list
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. craft — a skill
  19. dip — to sink
  20. branch — a division
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. craft — boats
  24. roll — a cake

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