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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 120 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wax — to grow
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — the fish
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bass — the fish
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bass — low music
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. press — to push
  24. cold — an illness

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