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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mark — a grade
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. current — happening now
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. current — of water
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chair — a leader
  21. current — electric
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mark — to pay attention

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