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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rule — a law
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. press — to push
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. press — a publisher
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. root — of a word
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. spring — a coil
  17. root — of a plant
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wax — to grow
  21. root — the cause
  22. clip — a video
  23. rule — government
  24. trunk — of a car

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