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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · racket · sharp · stock · game · press · straw · wax

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. press — newspapers
  6. stock — shares
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fork — in a road
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. game — a match
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wax — to grow
  18. press — a publisher
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. press — to push
  21. stock — goods
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. racket — for tennis

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