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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. press — to push
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. court — of a king
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. court — of law
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wax — for sculpting

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