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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wound — an injury
  4. charge — a price
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wax — to grow
  7. charge — electricity
  8. field — a subject
  9. charge — in control
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. field — for sport
  14. scale — size or range
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. saw — the tool
  17. press — to push
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. saw — the tool
  21. press — newspapers
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. scale — in music
  24. field — farmland

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