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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — employees
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. current — happening now
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — to bend
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lean — thin
  24. pitcher — a jug

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