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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 116 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. press — to push
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. ball — a dance
  11. press — a publisher
  12. lean — thin
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bound — tied together
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bound — certain
  22. capital — money
  23. pop — music
  24. lean — to bend

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