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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — money
  7. hand — in cards
  8. face — to point toward
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. swing — music
  12. press — to push
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to confront
  15. press — a publisher
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. capital — a city
  22. wax — to grow
  23. band — a music group
  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