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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. court — for sport
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. current — of water
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. face — part of the head
  16. court — of law
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. hand — help
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. court — of a king
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the sport

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