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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stock — shares
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rash — hasty
  8. stock — goods
  9. spell — magic
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. shower — rain
  15. spell — letters
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. rash — a series
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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