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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. swing — music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. stock — goods
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ground — a position
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ground — crushed
  16. swing — in golf
  17. content — the amount
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mug — to rob
  22. content — happy
  23. swing — to play on
  24. stock — shares

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