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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. can — a tin
  3. wax — to grow
  4. track — a song
  5. stand — to bear
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — child
  8. press — to push
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. degree — an amount
  15. row — a line
  16. degree — temperature
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. degree — from a university
  22. can — a tin
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. press — a publisher

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