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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stock — shares
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. stock — goods
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wax — to grow
  9. object — a thing
  10. land — a country
  11. file — a line of people
  12. object — to protest
  13. land — to come down
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lean — thin
  20. object — an aim
  21. land — ground
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. racket — for tennis

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