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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. current — of water
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. current — electric
  5. suit — in cards
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. current — happening now
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wound — an injury
  13. suit — clothes
  14. wax — to grow
  15. snap — to click
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. suit — to fit
  18. wound — an injury
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. degree — temperature
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — a measure

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