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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: stand · wax · chest · cold · mine · mouse · current · pop

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. pop — soda
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cold — not warm
  12. current — electric
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pop — to visit
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. current — happening now
  17. pop — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stand — to bear
  21. current — of water
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. chest — a box
  24. mine — an explosive

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