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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cold — an illness
  3. capital — a city
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pop — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. current — electric
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. capital — money
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bass — low music
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wax — to grow

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