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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wax — to grow
  5. rash — a series
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. pit — a hole
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lean — thin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. rash — hasty
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cell — a phone
  24. stand — on your feet

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