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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bank — for money
  4. drill — army training
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. kid — child
  10. spell — letters
  11. bank — for money
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — to tease
  15. band — a ring
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. press — to push
  21. bank — of a river
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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