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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mug — to rob
  4. court — for sport
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. current — of water
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mug — a cup
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. current — electric
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. race — the arms race
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. court — of law
  18. mug — a face
  19. court — of a king
  20. kick — in football
  21. current — happening now
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wax — in the ear

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