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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. craft — a skill
  4. present — there
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. present — a gift
  9. band — a music group
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. prune — to trim
  12. craft — boats
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — goods
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wax — to grow
  17. present — the time now
  18. band — a ring
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wax — in the ear

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