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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fine — high quality
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wax — to grow
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. press — newspapers
  8. deal — to handle
  9. press — a publisher
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — all right
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cold — not warm
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. press — to push
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. coach — a trainer

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