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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 water is too ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mate — to breed
  4. press — to push
  5. mine — for digging
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. press — newspapers
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mate — a friend
  18. spell — magic
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spell — letters
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. band — a ring
  23. press — a publisher
  24. mine — an explosive

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