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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cell — a phone
  4. court — of a king
  5. tear — to rip
  6. court — for sport
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. press — a publisher
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. press — newspapers
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. court — of law
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. prune — to trim
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cell — in biology
  20. press — to push
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wax — for sculpting

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