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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. squash — the sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wax — to grow
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. plane — a tool
  12. current — happening now
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. season — in sport
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. season — of the year
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. squash — to crush
  21. foot — a measure
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. ball — a great time
  24. foot — the bottom

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