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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. foot — a measure
  5. current — happening now
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — there
  13. current — of water
  14. chest — a box
  15. ground — a position
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. rash — a series
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. current — electric
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. present — a gift

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