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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. last — finally
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. drill — army training
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. bat — the animal
  12. march — music
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — a practice
  16. current — electric
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. last — final
  19. content — happy
  20. march — the month
  21. current — happening now
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. last — to go on
  24. wax — to grow

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