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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. current — happening now
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wax — to grow
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. current — electric
  15. bark — to shout
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — a price
  19. tear — to rip
  20. charge — in control
  21. current — of water
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. charge — electricity
  24. snap — to click

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