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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pop — soda
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pop — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rest — a break
  7. court — for sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — shares
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wax — to grow
  18. row — a line
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kid — child

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