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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. current — happening now
  4. game — a match
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. current — electric
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. current — of water
  15. season — of the year
  16. root — of a plant
  17. fall — the season
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — in an idiom

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