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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cold — an illness
  4. current — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. current — happening now
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pop — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — electric
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pop — soda
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wax — in the ear

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