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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. current — happening now
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. current — electric
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. stock — goods
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. current — of water
  13. wax — to grow
  14. race — the arms race
  15. spell — letters
  16. press — to push
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. race — humankind
  19. bulb — for light
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. race — a contest

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