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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. press — to push
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. ground — the earth
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pit — a hole
  21. track — to keep track
  22. press — newspapers
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pit — in a race

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