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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. court — of law
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. degree — from a university
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stock — goods
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stock — shares
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. chip — for betting
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. band — a music group
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wax — to grow
  19. chip — to eat
  20. snap — to click
  21. court — of a king
  22. band — a ring
  23. degree — temperature
  24. court — for sport

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