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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 124 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stock — shares
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ground — the earth
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. ground — crushed
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. stock — goods
  13. scale — in music
  14. wax — to grow
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mark — a grade
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. row — a line
  21. snap — to click
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. stock — a soup base

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