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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. net — in sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stock — goods
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. season — of the year
  19. wax — to grow
  20. season — in sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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