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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. stock — goods
  6. present — there
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stock — shares
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wax — to grow
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. sharp — clever
  14. present — a gift
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. plane — a tool
  17. present — the time now
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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