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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chest — of your body
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. present — the time now
  7. ground — a position
  8. press — a publisher
  9. present — a gift
  10. craft — boats
  11. present — there
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ground — crushed
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. press — to push
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pitch — completely
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. craft — a skill

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