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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. object — a thing
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — shares
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. game — a match
  15. board — to get on
  16. object — an aim
  17. key — for a lock
  18. lean — thin
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wax — to grow
  22. key — in music
  23. board — a committee
  24. object — to protest

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