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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — government
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. staff — employees
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — employees
  11. kick — in football
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rule — a law
  17. season — in sport
  18. press — a publisher
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. race — the arms race
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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