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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wax — to grow
  3. board — a committee
  4. drill — army training
  5. cue — for pool
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. drill — the tool
  8. ground — the earth
  9. current — electric
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hand — help
  12. present — a gift
  13. hand — in cards
  14. current — of water
  15. cue — a hint
  16. drill — a practice
  17. current — happening now
  18. board — to get on
  19. ground — a position
  20. cue — a signal
  21. present — the time now
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. board — a flat piece

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