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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. press — a publisher
  14. swing — in golf
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tear — from crying
  20. press — newspapers
  21. deal — to handle
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wax — in the ear

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