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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — a container
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. press — to push
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. press — a publisher
  15. chest — a box
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. wax — in the ear

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