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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wax — to grow
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. firm — a company
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. swing — music
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. scale — in music
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. net — in sport
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cold — not warm

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