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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. current — of water
  3. scale — in music
  4. branch — a division
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. kick — in football
  7. ground — crushed
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ground — a position
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. current — electric
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ground — the earth
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. scale — size or range
  21. current — happening now
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. scale — for weighing

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