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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — electric
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. net — after costs
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. march — the month
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. wax — to grow
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. current — of water

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