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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. capital — a city
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. stand — to bear
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. current — of water
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. current — electric
  16. wax — to grow
  17. capital — money
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. mine — for digging

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