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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. net — for catching
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — to go on
  7. march — the month
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. march — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. net — after costs
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. net — in sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wax — to grow
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. march — the month

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