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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pit — in a race
  4. current — happening now
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. perch — the fish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — to grow
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. current — of water
  14. shower — rain
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — to cut
  17. court — for sport
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cue — a signal
  20. court — of a king
  21. pit — a hole
  22. clip — a video
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cue — for pool

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