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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — to wash
  3. board — a committee
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — clever
  11. current — happening now
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. cell — a phone
  17. shower — rain
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. current — electric
  22. current — of water
  23. board — to get on
  24. bowl — a football final

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