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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cue — a signal
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cue — a hint
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kick — in football
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stock — goods
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wax — to grow
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cue — for pool
  21. spring — the season
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. stock — shares

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