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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. land — a country
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. current — of water
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spell — magic
  14. current — electric
  15. band — a ring
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rash — a series
  19. scale — in music
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. current — happening now
  22. lean — to bend
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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