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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. march — the month
  7. land — to come down
  8. press — newspapers
  9. game — a match
  10. land — ground
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. march — the month
  13. bark — to shout
  14. net — in sport
  15. march — music
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. land — a country
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rest — a break
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wax — to grow
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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