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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. lie — to recline
  3. charge — in control
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. charge — a price
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. content — the amount
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. cold — an illness
  19. charge — electricity
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. content — happy
  24. wax — for sculpting

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