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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. tear — from crying
  5. press — a publisher
  6. content — happy
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. content — the amount
  16. firm — decided
  17. tear — to rip
  18. firm — steady
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wax — to grow
  21. firm — a company
  22. cold — an illness
  23. press — to push
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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