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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. cue — for pool
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cue — a signal
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stock — goods
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. wax — to grow
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. dip — to sink
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. sharp — exactly

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