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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cold — not warm
  3. firm — steady
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. firm — a company
  6. rock — a stone
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. capital — a city
  10. current — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. firm — decided
  13. wax — to grow
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rock — music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. current — electric
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rock — to move gently

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