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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. degree — from a university
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. press — to push
  10. roll — a list
  11. press — newspapers
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. roll — on a roll

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