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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. band — a ring
  6. spell — magic
  7. press — newspapers
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — in cards
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. net — after costs
  16. spell — a short time
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. ball — a dance
  20. hand — help
  21. spell — letters
  22. press — to push
  23. wax — to grow
  24. land — a country

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