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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. club — for golf
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stock — goods
  9. club — a group
  10. stock — shares
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wax — to grow
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. squash — to crush

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