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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. chest — a box
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. tube — the underground
  17. press — to push
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wax — to grow
  22. march — the month
  23. land — to come down
  24. chest — of your body

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