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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. press — to push
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. court — of law
  9. wax — to grow
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — a publisher
  14. court — of a king
  15. sharp — clever
  16. deal — to handle
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. court — for sport

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