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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. capital — a city
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. capital — money
  7. hand — in cards
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bass — the fish
  10. suit — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. face — part of the head
  16. suit — to fit
  17. face — to confront
  18. press — newspapers
  19. hand — help
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. suit — clothes
  22. wax — to grow
  23. press — to push
  24. capital — a big letter

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