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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. squash — the sport
  6. press — newspapers
  7. club — for golf
  8. kid — child
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. press — to push
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — a group
  16. fine — all right
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. press — a publisher
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. squash — to crush

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