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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wake — a trail
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tube — a container
  8. court — of a king
  9. prune — to trim
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. court — of law
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. tube — in a tire

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