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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. net — in sport
  3. mate — a friend
  4. current — of water
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. hand — in cards
  8. net — for catching
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chair — a leader
  11. race — humankind
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. current — electric
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. swing — to play on
  17. hand — help
  18. current — happening now
  19. net — after costs
  20. swing — music
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. race — a contest

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