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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. spell — letters
  3. content — the amount
  4. shower — rain
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. shower — to wash
  7. spell — magic
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — to grow
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. current — happening now
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. current — electric
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. press — to push

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