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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wax — to grow
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pop — music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. stock — shares
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — wild animals
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. club — for golf
  15. pop — soda
  16. club — for dancing
  17. stock — goods
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. club — a group
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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