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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. current — electric
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fork — in a road
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. race — a contest
  17. wax — to grow
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wind — moving air
  20. race — humankind
  21. current — of water
  22. plane — a tool
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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