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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. season — of the year
  3. mine — for digging
  4. current — electric
  5. club — for golf
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. current — of water
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — shares
  11. club — a group
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — to grow
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. season — in sport
  18. stock — goods
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wax — in the ear

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