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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. current — of water
  3. branch — a division
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — to grow
  12. current — electric
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. tear — to rip
  23. current — happening now
  24. sharp — clever

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