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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. court — of law
  5. cold — not warm
  6. press — newspapers
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. press — to push
  9. field — farmland
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — for sport
  12. hand — help
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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