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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. deal — to handle
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bat — the animal
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. scale — size or range
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. craft — a skill
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. scale — in music
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stock — goods
  23. wax — to grow
  24. date — on the calendar

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