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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. staff — employees
  5. stock — goods
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cap — of ice
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. current — electric
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bore — to tire
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. land — a country
  18. staff — employees
  19. cap — a hat
  20. current — of water
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wax — to grow
  23. current — happening now
  24. cap — a lid

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