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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. current — happening now
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. object — to protest
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. game — wild animals
  11. current — of water
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — electric
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. game — a match
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. object — an aim
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. object — a thing

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