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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wax — to grow
  12. band — a ring
  13. pass — a permit
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. press — a publisher
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bank — for money
  21. press — to push
  22. cold — an illness
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bank — for money

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