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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — for digging
  3. stock — shares
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pound — a weight
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. stock — goods
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. swing — in golf
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chip — for betting
  20. swing — music
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pound — for dogs

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