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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. net — after costs
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — to push
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. net — in sport
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. spring — of water
  11. net — for catching
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rule — government
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. press — a publisher
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spring — the season

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