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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. ground — the earth
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. ground — crushed
  7. current — happening now
  8. march — the month
  9. current — of water
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ground — a position
  14. mine — for digging
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. stand — to bear
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. march — music
  24. dip — to sink

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