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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rule — government
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stock — shares
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rule — a law
  9. stock — goods
  10. press — a publisher
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. press — to push
  19. field — farmland
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. press — newspapers
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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