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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. game — a match
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ball — a great time
  12. prune — to trim
  13. key — in music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. key — for a lock
  17. wax — to grow
  18. press — to push
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. key — the most important part

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