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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spring — the season
  5. file — a tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. press — to push
  9. spring — a coil
  10. file — a line of people
  11. spring — of water
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. file — a document
  14. press — a publisher
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cap — of ice
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cap — a hat
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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