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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. snap — to click
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. march — music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. firm — a company
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stock — goods
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — for paper
  18. firm — steady
  19. march — the month
  20. net — for catching
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stock — shares
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — a soup base

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