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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. game — a match
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — shares
  6. tube — a container
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cue — a hint
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cue — for pool
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tube — the underground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cue — a signal
  24. wax — to grow

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