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

Word bank: kid · present · perch · tube · wax · stock · rule · snap

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kid — child
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. present — there
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — to tease
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stock — shares
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. snap — to click
  15. rule — government
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stock — goods
  18. wax — to grow
  19. present — the time now
  20. tube — the underground
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. tube — a container
  23. present — a gift
  24. perch — the fish

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