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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. rush — hurry
  7. content — the amount
  8. can — to be able to
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. content — happy
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. court — of a king
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of law
  16. current — electric
  17. stand — to bear
  18. court — for sport
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cold — not warm
  21. current — happening now
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — a tin

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