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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: current · net · hide · wax · club · cold · bowl · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — electric
  3. club — for dancing
  4. net — after costs
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. club — for golf
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fall — to drop
  11. current — of water
  12. club — a group
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. net — for catching
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. net — in sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. current — happening now
  23. fall — the season
  24. bowl — to roll

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