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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. current — electric
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. last — final
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. current — of water
  10. cap — a hat
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — to go on
  13. rash — a series
  14. wax — to grow
  15. last — finally
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. current — happening now
  20. rash — hasty
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. cold — an illness

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