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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mate — to breed
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. march — music
  6. firm — a company
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wax — to grow
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a tool
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. firm — steady
  15. clip — to cut
  16. firm — decided
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. file — a document
  21. mate — a friend
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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