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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 chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mug — to rob
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. roll — a cake
  5. mug — a face
  6. current — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. roll — a list
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wax — to grow
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. swing — in golf
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. current — happening now
  17. mug — a cup
  18. squash — to crush
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. kid — to tease
  21. swing — to play on
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. swing — music

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