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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. stock — shares
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. race — humankind
  10. snap — to click
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wax — to grow
  13. file — a document
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. stock — goods
  20. craft — boats
  21. file — a tool
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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