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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 124 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. court — of a king
  3. land — to come down
  4. firm — a company
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. firm — steady
  8. file — a tool
  9. land — ground
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. file — a document
  12. wax — to grow
  13. press — a publisher
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — the animal
  16. court — of law
  17. press — to push
  18. court — for sport
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. land — a country
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. press — newspapers

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