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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. stock — shares
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. root — of a word
  10. march — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wax — to grow
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. roll — a list
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. root — the cause
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. stock — goods
  22. season — in sport
  23. roll — a cake
  24. season — of the year

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