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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. wax — to grow
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cap — a lid
  5. tube — a container
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. snap — to click
  9. cap — of ice
  10. land — ground
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tube — the underground
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. land — a country
  23. spring — of water
  24. cap — a hat

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