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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · cold · racket · fork · mate · ruler · current · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bound — obliged
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. current — electric
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. current — happening now
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bound — certain
  23. current — of water
  24. mate — a partner

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