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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. current — electric
  4. wax — to grow
  5. board — a committee
  6. degree — an amount
  7. board — to get on
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. land — ground
  10. firm — steady
  11. degree — from a university
  12. firm — a company
  13. kick — in football
  14. current — happening now
  15. dip — to sink
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. degree — temperature
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. current — of water
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. dip — a sauce

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