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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. ground — crushed
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. object — a thing
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. saw — the tool
  11. object — an aim
  12. ground — a position
  13. wax — to grow
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. press — newspapers
  20. saw — the tool
  21. press — a publisher
  22. ground — the earth
  23. object — to protest
  24. rash — a series

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