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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 water is too ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fall — the season
  3. mark — a grade
  4. current — electric
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. fall — to drop
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. current — of water
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. current — happening now
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — the Cold War

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