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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. stock — goods
  3. current — happening now
  4. file — a line of people
  5. current — electric
  6. wax — to grow
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stock — shares
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. file — a document
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. current — of water
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — the Cold War

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