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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hand — in cards
  3. current — of water
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. last — finally
  8. hand — help
  9. current — happening now
  10. capital — money
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. last — final
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — to go on
  18. wax — to grow
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. current — electric
  21. capital — a city
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bowl — a football final

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