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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. last — to go on
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pop — to visit
  8. current — of water
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. track — a song
  13. last — finally
  14. wax — to grow
  15. last — final
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pop — music
  20. sharp — clever
  21. season — of the year
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. sharp — with an edge

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