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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cap — a lid
  4. current — happening now
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. hand — help
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. current — electric
  13. current — of water
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rash — a series
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rash — hasty
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rush — to hurry

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