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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bass — low music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. current — happening now
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — finally
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. last — final
  11. row — a line
  12. current — of water
  13. current — electric
  14. spring — the season
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. spring — of water
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spring — a coil
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wax — to grow
  21. last — to go on
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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