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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. last — final
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. ball — a great time
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wax — to grow
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. ground — the earth
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ball — a dance
  14. current — electric
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. current — of water
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. last — finally
  20. vault — a safe
  21. last — to go on
  22. current — happening now
  23. ground — a position
  24. stock — goods

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