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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stock — shares
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pit — in a race
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. stock — goods
  24. swing — music

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