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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. content — happy
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. press — newspapers
  8. net — in sport
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mug — a cup
  11. content — the amount
  12. chest — a box
  13. swing — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. press — to push
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — after costs
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mug — a face

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