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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — to grow
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cold — not warm
  9. charge — a price
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. current — of water
  12. squash — the sport
  13. charge — electricity
  14. net — for catching
  15. current — happening now
  16. rock — a stone
  17. charge — in control
  18. current — electric
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cold — an illness
  24. net — in sport

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