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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 120 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. current — of water
  3. clip — a video
  4. wax — to grow
  5. hand — in cards
  6. land — to come down
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. land — ground
  9. bear — the animal
  10. vault — a safe
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. land — a country
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. current — happening now
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — a cup
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. current — electric
  22. mug — to rob
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hand — help

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