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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chest — a box
  8. wax — to grow
  9. roll — a list
  10. current — of water
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. present — the time now
  15. dip — to sink
  16. current — electric
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. present — there
  19. current — happening now
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. present — a gift
  24. dip — a sauce

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