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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. field — a subject
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. snap — to click
  18. wax — to grow
  19. press — to push
  20. mine — for digging
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fork — a garden tool

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