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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. court — for sport
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. firm — a company
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. band — a ring
  9. court — of law
  10. object — a thing
  11. band — a music group
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. firm — steady
  14. capital — a city
  15. court — of a king
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wax — to grow
  22. capital — money
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — to push

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