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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. current — electric
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chest — a box
  10. wax — to grow
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fall — the season
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cold — not warm

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