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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. clip — a video
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. firm — a company
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. mug — a face
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. firm — decided
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mug — to rob
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mug — a cup

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