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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. firm — a company
  4. scale — in music
  5. firm — decided
  6. rest — what's left
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. content — happy
  10. rest — what's left
  11. prune — to trim
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. scale — size or range
  14. firm — steady
  15. wax — to grow
  16. content — the amount
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. press — a publisher
  19. sharp — clever
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. press — to push
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. press — newspapers
  24. prune — the fruit

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