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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — shares
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. capital — a city
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bat — the animal
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mate — to breed
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stock — goods
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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