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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pit — a hole
  3. dip — to sink
  4. kick — in football
  5. branch — a division
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. press — newspapers
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cold — an illness
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pit — in a race
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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