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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kid — to tease
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. lie — to recline
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stock — goods
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kid — child
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ball — a great time
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — a line
  24. stock — shares

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