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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wax — to grow
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pop — soda
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. clip — to cut
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. pop — music
  24. press — to push

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