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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. press — to push
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. press — a publisher
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. drill — army training
  21. press — newspapers
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bulb — for light

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