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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. current — electric
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rash — hasty
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. current — of water
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. current — happening now
  24. prune — to trim

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