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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. ball — a great time
  5. dip — to sink
  6. current — of water
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. current — happening now
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wax — to grow
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. ball — a dance
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. kid — child
  20. shower — to wash
  21. present — there
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. current — electric
  24. wax — for sculpting

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