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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. present — there
  5. press — to push
  6. wax — to grow
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — an illness
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rest — a break
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stock — shares

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