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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. march — music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fall — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. kid — child
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wax — to grow
  12. kid — to tease
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rule — a law
  16. march — the month
  17. current — of water
  18. fall — to drop
  19. current — happening now
  20. march — the month
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — an amount

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