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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a hole
  3. court — of law
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pit — in a race
  6. current — electric
  7. object — a thing
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. object — to protest
  10. sharp — clever
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. court — of a king
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. object — an aim
  20. plane — a tool
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. court — for sport
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. kid — child

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