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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pit — a hole
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wax — to grow
  5. track — a song
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — the tool
  8. current — happening now
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pit — in a race
  18. game — a match
  19. track — a path
  20. wind — moving air
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. current — electric
  23. saw — the tool
  24. current — of water

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