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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. press — a publisher
  6. capital — a city
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rush — hurry
  17. capital — money
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. wax — to grow
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. saw — the tool

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