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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wound — an injury
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. press — to push
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. rule — a law
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wax — to grow
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. press — a publisher
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. vault — a safe
  21. rule — government
  22. wound — an injury
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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