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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wax — to grow
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. current — electric
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. current — happening now
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. plane — a tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. capital — money
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. net — for catching
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. band — a ring
  24. net — in sport

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