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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pass — a permit
  4. march — the month
  5. net — in sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. kid — child
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. last — finally
  10. net — after costs
  11. last — to go on
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. last — final
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. net — for catching
  24. tube — in a tire

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