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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. rule — a law
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — a list
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. content — happy
  16. rule — government
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. wax — to grow

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