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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. craft — boats
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bank — for money
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. scale — in music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wax — to grow
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. current — happening now
  16. scale — size or range
  17. current — electric
  18. swing — music
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — a phone
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bank — for money
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bank — of a river

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