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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 120 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cue — for pool
  13. stock — shares
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cue — a signal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — to cool the air

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