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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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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: rest · bat · wax · can · bowl · land · current · mine

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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. bowl — a football final
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. current — electric
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. land — ground
  9. current — happening now
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. can — to be able to
  13. can — a tin
  14. rest — a break
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rest — what's left
  17. land — to come down
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. can — a tin
  23. land — a country
  24. rest — what's left

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