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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: snap · current · game · chair · tear · cabinet · wax · kick

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. current — electric
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — wild animals
  12. current — of water
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. game — a match
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. snap — to click
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. wax — to grow
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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