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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. press — a publisher
  8. ball — a dance
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. press — newspapers
  11. row — to paddle
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. row — a line
  14. branch — a division
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wax — to grow
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. shower — to wash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. shower — rain
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. ball — a great time

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