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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. current — electric
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. content — the amount
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — a video
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rock — to move gently

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