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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: craft · cold · row · current · swing · wax · cell · press

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. row — to paddle
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wax — to grow
  6. current — of water
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — music
  9. press — to push
  10. row — a line
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. current — happening now
  13. craft — boats
  14. swing — in golf
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cold — an illness
  20. press — newspapers
  21. swing — to play on
  22. press — a publisher
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cold — the Cold War

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