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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. current — of water
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kick — in football
  8. court — for sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. fall — to drop
  18. current — electric
  19. shower — rain
  20. fall — the season
  21. wax — to grow
  22. current — happening now
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mouse — the animal

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