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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bank — for money
  3. track — a path
  4. bank — for money
  5. snap — to click
  6. track — to keep track
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — of water
  9. chest — of your body
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. track — a song
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chest — a box
  19. rock — a stone
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bank — of a river
  22. current — electric
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wax — to grow

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