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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. current — electric
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. current — happening now
  7. shower — to wash
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — letters
  13. shower — rain
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. current — of water
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. saw — the tool
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  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