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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. stock — goods
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. roll — a list
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. chair — a leader
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — a container
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. stock — shares
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. tube — the underground
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. roll — on a roll

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