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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. capital — money
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. can — to be able to
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. can — a tin
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. capital — a city
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wax — to grow
  17. can — a tin
  18. fork — in a road
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. press — to push
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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