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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. last — to go on
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. press — newspapers
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. press — to push
  19. wax — to grow
  20. game — a match
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. press — a publisher

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