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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 116 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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mine — for digging
  4. current — electric
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — finally
  11. wax — to grow
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. current — happening now
  20. cold — an illness
  21. current — of water
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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