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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pop — music
  4. press — to push
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. squash — the sport
  9. press — newspapers
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pop — to visit
  15. squash — to crush
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. press — a publisher
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. tube — a container
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pop — soda
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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