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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. degree — temperature
  13. press — to push
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cell — a phone

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