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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pop — soda
  5. capital — money
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. shower — rain
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. press — to push
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pop — music
  15. board — a committee
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. board — to get on
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. press — a publisher
  22. capital — a city
  23. press — newspapers
  24. board — a flat piece

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