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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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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. press — to push
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. perch — the fish
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. race — humankind
  12. charge — a price
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. club — for dancing
  15. saw — the tool
  16. charge — in control
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. club — a group
  19. press — a publisher
  20. saw — the tool
  21. club — for golf
  22. race — a contest
  23. press — newspapers
  24. perch — for a bird

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