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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. charge — in control
  6. current — of water
  7. wind — moving air
  8. current — electric
  9. spring — of water
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. current — happening now
  12. spring — the season
  13. charge — electricity
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ground — the earth
  17. dip — to sink
  18. spring — a coil
  19. charge — a price
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bark — to shout
  24. ground — a position

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