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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. scale — size or range
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. plane — a tool
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wax — to grow
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. spring — of water

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