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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. current — of water
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chest — of your body
  5. current — electric
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. scale — size or range
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mate — a friend
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mate — to breed
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. scale — in music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mate — a partner
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. board — a committee
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — a box
  24. current — happening now

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