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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. net — in sport
  3. current — electric
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. rash — a series
  6. shower — to wash
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. current — happening now
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. current — of water
  14. net — for catching
  15. wake — a trail
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. net — after costs
  20. capital — a city
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wax — to grow
  23. capital — money
  24. rash — hasty

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