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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. tube — a container
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kid — child
  5. current — of water
  6. current — happening now
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. can — a tin
  9. face — to confront
  10. wax — to grow
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bat — the animal
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. kid — to tease
  16. can — a tin
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. can — to be able to
  22. face — to point toward
  23. track — a song
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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