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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. kick — in football
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. scale — in music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — money
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. press — to push
  13. mark — a trace
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bore — to drill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. capital — a city
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mark — a grade
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rock — music
  23. press — newspapers
  24. capital — a big letter

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