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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 116 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. bank — for money
  3. shower — rain
  4. bass — low music
  5. key — in music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. press — to push
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bank — for money
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wax — to grow
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. key — for a lock
  22. drill — the tool
  23. key — the most important part
  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