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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. row — a line
  3. track — a path
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wax — to grow
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. press — newspapers
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fall — to drop
  11. key — the most important part
  12. face — to confront
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. press — a publisher
  15. key — in music
  16. snap — to click
  17. face — part of the head
  18. row — to paddle
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. track — a song
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. row — a quarrel

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