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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. track — a song
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. press — a publisher
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mate — a partner
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. track — a path
  10. march — music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — to push
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — of your body
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed
  19. march — the month
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — a box
  24. patient — a sick person

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