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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 120 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. press — to push
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. deal — to handle
  6. spring — the season
  7. rash — a series
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. spring — of water
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — not warm
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cold — an illness

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