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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pop — to visit
  4. current — electric
  5. pop — music
  6. hand — help
  7. current — happening now
  8. kid — to tease
  9. current — of water
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stock — shares
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pop — soda
  16. stock — goods
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. kid — child
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — in cards

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