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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 120 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. stock — goods
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wax — to grow
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. tear — to rip
  14. key — for a lock
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. key — in music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wax — in the ear

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