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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. capital — a city
  6. press — newspapers
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. shower — rain
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. spell — letters
  15. press — to push
  16. roll — a cake
  17. capital — money
  18. shower — to wash
  19. roll — a list
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. spell — magic

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