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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 get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rest — what's left
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. club — for golf
  8. present — there
  9. bass — the fish
  10. spring — of water
  11. rest — a break
  12. press — a publisher
  13. present — the time now
  14. spring — a coil
  15. press — to push
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bass — low music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spring — the season
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. press — newspapers
  23. club — a group
  24. perch — for a bird

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