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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. spell — letters
  3. current — electric
  4. spell — a short time
  5. root — of a word
  6. charge — electricity
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. root — the cause
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. current — happening now
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. charge — a price
  16. wax — to grow
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. current — of water
  19. branch — a division
  20. charge — in control
  21. race — humankind
  22. root — of a plant
  23. race — a contest
  24. spell — magic

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