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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. current — happening now
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. court — of law
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. current — of water
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. court — of a king
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. court — for sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — electric
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bat — the animal

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