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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bore — to tire
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bore — to drill
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. press — to push
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fall — to drop
  17. press — newspapers
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — the season
  20. saw — the tool
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. fall — the season
  24. press — a publisher

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