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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. charge — electricity
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. last — finally
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. charge — a price
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. charge — in control
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. file — a document
  21. last — to go on
  22. press — a publisher
  23. last — final
  24. wound — an injury

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