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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stem — to come from
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mark — a grade
  9. shower — rain
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. file — a tool
  16. press — to push
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. file — a document

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