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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. current — happening now
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wax — to grow
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. deal — to handle
  22. craft — boats
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — an agreement

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