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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. squash — the sport
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. face — to confront
  9. stock — shares
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — to cut
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. clip — a video
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. pitch — completely
  22. face — part of the head
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wax — to grow

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