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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cap — a lid
  5. press — a publisher
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. press — to push
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. hand — help
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. press — newspapers

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