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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cue — for pool
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bark — to shout
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stock — shares
  13. cue — a hint
  14. capital — money
  15. cue — a signal
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stock — goods
  18. lean — thin
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. capital — a city
  24. season — of the year

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